Dragonball Z: Legacies
by ALP113
Summary: Following that fateful day at the Cell Games, Gohan quickly realizes that the role of earth's protector is filled with many great trials and tribulations. Encountering new enemies and friends along the way, the young half-Saiyan comes to learn that being a hero can be tough, but at the same time... it can be a lot of fun. AU
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Hello all. It's been a while since I last did a DBZ fic, so I figured I'd throw myself back into the game and give it a shot.

This is a story that I've wanted to write for a while now, which is a complete retelling of the Dragonball Z story following the Cell Games. In my honest opinion, the entire world of DBZ started going downhill after the Cell Games, which served as one of the biggest turning points in the series and gave the author the perfect opportunity to make something even more awesome afterwards.

Unfortunately, he cocked it up by not only making Gohan, the supposed cover character after the seven year gap, a complete shadow of his former self, but he also introduced one of the most unsatisfying villains with the most rinse-and-repeat story arcs I've ever seen. Though the author did get some things right in introducing Videl, Super Saiyan 3 and re-introducing the tournament and all that, there were so many other things that he did wrong.

To me, the entire Saga after the seven year gap sends a really mixed message to me. Instead of making Gohan the hero, he brings Goku back from the dead to once again save the day. Now I'm not saying loving your hero and main character of so many years is a bad thing, but using him in excess over all of the generations and having him win all of the fights is just bad storytelling.

Basically by bringing Goku back as the hero to save the day for the hundredth time gives the message that _**we**_ (as people) **have to rely on our parents and our fathers to fight and win all of our battles for us, instead of growing up and taking on the mantel of responsibility ourselves.** It's probably why I took a shine to the Naruto series afterwards, since it talks about the next generation taking over and taking on the responsibilities of the world (kind of).

Well, I personally don't agree with that message and came up with this idea against it. I was also disappointed at the lack of female Saiyans and strong female characters in the original DBZ universe, as it's practically a sausage fest in the gang. I'd like to make some changes to that too.

This story I hope makes amendments to the mistakes of the Buu Saga by introducing different villains (both original and from the movies) and new allies, while at the same time running parallel to the original story, and making Gohan the hero instead. I also don't want to overpower characters either and make this a fun story to read. I think you can call this story an AU.

So let's see how it goes.

To all those wondering, we start this story off in the movie **_Bojack Unbound_**.

(P.S If I happen to use the name Naruto somewhere in this and the following chapters, please ignore it. I've been writing Naruto stories for a while now, so some of that stuff might end up unconsciously bleeding into this fic. Hopefully not)

* * *

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Prologue_

(Over a month after the Cell Games)

Deep inside the pristine wilderness also known as the region making up Mount Paozu, far out of the way of any known civilization, there sat the familiar dome shaped hut and cottage buildings belonging to the Son family. Quiet, peaceful, surrounded by valleys, forests, and a river flowing directly alongside the property, the small home rose up in the center of this tranquil splendor like a beacon on a map, untouched and undisturbed by the intrigues of human expansion.

To some; it was an ideal place for a farmland. To others, it was a superb location for a family retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. But to the few who actually lived in the small, country building sitting in the middle of the field; it was home.

Here, under the orange light of the rising sun, one of the residents of the house could be seen outside, on the grass and hard at work.

Leaping across the rolling hillsides and valleys, adorned in a familiar orange and blue gi with his black, spiky hair sticking out in a peculiar yet ordered fashion, a young boy could be seen going through the motions. Fists and feet cutting through the air at terrific speeds, the eleven-year-old, teen form of Son Gohan blurred across the fields surrounding his home, fighting against an enemy nobody could see. Since he was on his own and there was nobody else in sight or reach, it was safe to say that the young man was in fact shadow sparring.

Just like how his father and Piccolo had taught him, the boy subjected himself to his most familiar of training routines. Dust kicking up as he zipped across the landscape at a ridiculous rate, Gohan pushed himself hard to get his blood pumping and muscles working. Having already been at this for a couple of hours now, the boy had had plenty of time to wake up after a good night of sleep, as well as to mentally and physically prepare himself for the day that lay ahead.

Back flipping across the hills in the form of an orange flash, Gohan eventually skidded to a stop near his home and unleashed a flurry of punches before ending the combination with a swift yet powerful kick. The blow caused a gust of wind to ripple across the grassy hills for several miles, before the gale settled moments later and allowed the half-Saiyan to lower his leg to the ground.

Breathing in and out, Gohan allowed a grin to appear on his face and clenched his fists at his sides triumphantly. "Alright. I think I'm ready now." The look in his eyes showed the world that he was ready to rock.

"Gohan! It's time to go!" the familiar call of a woman suddenly echoed from across the flats, drawing the boy's gaze towards his home. "Come on now! We don't want to be late!"

Seeing his mother adorned in her familiar purple and orange dress, carrying her purse with her hair all done up, was all the sign the young hybrid warrior needed to tell him that she was all set to head out.

An excited smile graced his lips, "Coming." Dashing across the clearing, he skidded to a stop in front of the woman, whom he noted had been waiting patiently for him.

"So… are you all warmed up?" Chi-Chi asked, gazing proudly down at her son.

"Yep," Gohan replied, his visage bright and full of energy. "I've been out here all morning working on my stuff. My senses are razor sharp and my fighting techniques are spot on." With this, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going to make a killing at the big event they were about to attend.

Hell, the entire world was going to be watching him. He needed to be in the best shape possible if he was going to make any sort of an impact on the stage that was waiting for them. Considering what he was capable of though, he knew that it wasn't going to be that much of a problem.

"Well, that's good to hear," the Son mother nodded, turning to look down at her purse and checking to make sure she had everything. "Knowing that Trunks and the others are going to be there today, it would be really bad for you if you went into the ring all tired and spent. I sure hope you didn't warm yourself up too much."

Chi-Chi; concerned as always.

At this, Gohan grinned, "Don't worry about me, mum. I'm feeling great today… _better_ than great. My head is clear and I feel a lot stronger than I was four weeks ago. As long as I keep my eyes open and watch my punches, I know I'll be able to make it to the finals, no problem." When he looked up and saw her eyes fix upon him again, the boy's eyes shimmered brightly. "By the way… thanks for letting me train in my free time, mum. It really means a lot to me."

Her expression reflecting a momentary sense of surprise, the raven haired mother then broke out a loving smile, which she directed towards the youngster in front of her. "That's alright, honey. As long as it makes you happy, then I don't mind letting you out in the mornings and afternoons to work on your fighting skills. You _are_ your father's son after all… and I'd really hate to deprive you of the one part of him that the two of you love so much."

In the days following the Cell Games, which had seen the death of his father and the greatest man he'd ever known, Gohan had come to the realization that in order to defend the earth from any new threats that happened to be lurking around the corner, he needed to keep on training and keep on getting stronger. Even though he and his friends had just pulled through one of the toughest trials they'd ever faced in the history of their group, the boy knew that even though the world was now at peace, the days of fighting weren't over.

After all, it was big, wide universe out there. Although Cell had been defeated, there was a very real possibility that a being even more powerful and malicious than him might show up someday to throw the world into chaos.

With his father gone and the fate of humankind left in his hands, Gohan knew that he needed to take up the mantel that his dad had left behind, and fill in the enormous void that once belonged to Goku. So, with his father's sacrifice still lingering in his mind, he'd approached his mother and asked her if he could continue training. Though she initially objected and put up one hell of a fight about it, Gohan eventually talked her down to letting him train in the mornings and afternoons, while leaving the bulk of his day to do his studies and help her out around the house.

Since he, his mother and grandfather were now the only ones living in the house, there were many gaps in their lives that needed to be occupied. It was for the best, not just for him and for them, but for everyone.

Despite the fact that Chi-Chi had agreed to Gohan's terms, she still made it a point to remind him that he needed to focus on his studies as much as possible. Even though she seemed disappointed at the idea of her son training and fighting, the half-Saiyan still reckoned he saw a small glimmer of happiness reflected in her eyes when she finally conceded. It was a feeling that Chi-Chi only ever shown to her husband on the most uncommon of occasions, where his skills, strength and guiding hand had been needed most.

With her expression showcasing her own degree of excitement, the Son woman raised a hand and formed a tight fist, "Now remember son; pace yourself, don't let your guard down, and _don't_ mess up. Because if you lose in the first round after all that training I let you do in the last several weeks, then I'm going to be very disappointed in you."

A smile came to the youngster's face, "I'll win. I know I will."

"Good." Smiling, Chi-Chi gave a firm nod and puffed her chest out. "Now get out there and show the world what Son Gohan can do!"

The half-Saiyan grinned, "Yes, ma'am!"

The moment that declaration had been made, the pair then picked up the sound of an approaching engine and looked up to see a familiar yellow ship appear out of the clouds. Gazes locking onto it, the mother and son watched the craft descend to the grass in front of them, its engines blazing away and ruffling the clothes hanging on the nearby line, nearly blowing the towels away.

When the square-shaped vehicle eventually touched down and the jets reduced their thrust to a bearable level, both Gohan and Chi-Chi then saw the side door open up and the familiar face of Bulma Briefs pop into view.

"Hey there, you two. Ready to head off?" the boss of the universally renowned Capsule Corporation asked with a gleeful look on her face. Over the last few months the woman had grown her hair out and, today, was wearing a headband to push it all back, a pair of jean shorts, pearls, and a green fitting top that showed off her curves. Needless to say, she too was ready for the big day out.

"You bet," Gohan exclaimed, greeting the woman with a gung-ho smile and a raised fist.

Bulma giggled at the youngster's familiar grin and expression, "Glad to see you're all pumped up. I can expect nothing less from the son of Goku. Hop aboard everyone." With a quick wave the woman ducked back in, allowing the two Sons to approach the deck.

Stepping in through the hatch, the young half-Saiyan quickly spotted his lavender haired, time traveling Saiyan counterpart sitting in the passenger seat up front and waved, "Hey Trunks. What's up?"

The older half-Saiyan, adorned in his familiar uniform consisting of black pants, yellow Capsule Corp. boots, blue vest, black singlet, and carrying his younger, baby-self securely in his arms, smiled back at his fellow hybrid and nodded, "Not much. Hey. Nice outfit."

"Thanks. I thought I'd take a page out of my father's book and decided to try out his colors for a change," Gohan responded, tugging on the collar of his gi before helping his mother up the stairs. "I gotta say it's been a while since I last wore this stuff." The last time he remembered wearing this gear was back when he was four and training with Piccolo.

"Well, it looks very good on you, Gohan," Bulma remarked from her place in the pilot's seat, glancing back at the young warrior and strapping herself in. "I'm sure Goku would be very proud to see how far you've come."

Beaming, the raven haired Saiyan hoped into a seat and buckled up as well, with Chi-Chi mimicking her son's actions.

As soon as everyone was safely inside the transport and secured, Bulma shut the door, put her foot down and took off. The entire plane jerked to life as it lifted off the ground, climbed to a comfortable altitude and turned towards the horizon. Once the woman was certain they were pointed in the right direction, she fired the engines and gunned it, the plane blasting off into the distance.

As it turns out, everyone was excited today, and with good reason.

Because today, for one time only, all the fighters in the world would be partaking in the very first _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_.

OOO

(Meanwhile - Many miles elsewhere)

For the raven haired, eleven-year-old girl sitting in the helicopter on route for _Battle Island,_ the location of the largest martial arts tournament to be held in years, it was the most uncomfortable flight she'd ever been on. While the seat she was planted in was indeed very cushiony and the soda she'd gotten for the flight across the channel was delicious, the fact that she had to share the same space as Hercule Satan, the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world and the biggest oaf she'd ever seen in history, completely tarnished the experience for her.

While everybody else around the world worshipped this man as its savior for the deeds he supposedly accomplished during the Cell Games, this girl did not. Reason being, not only was he flirting incessantly with the waitress serving them beverages on the luxury chopper, which was taking them _and_ the Cash family to their final destination, but because the man with the afro style cut was her father.

Seriously. What daughter in the world didn't think that their father's antics in public were embarrassing?

Videl certainly thought so.

Sitting there by the window with a sublime view of the landscape passing by underneath them, the tomboyish girl wearing yellow boots, blue jeans, long green top, red over-shirt, and her raven black hair wrapped into two high pigtails, tried her best to ignore her father's loud, booming voice and focused on the world outside. However, try as she might, she just could not block out the irritating noises he and the giggling waitress were making, which had the girl snarl inwardly and glare across at her lump of an old-man.

"_Honestly… does he ever stop?"_ Videl thought with a detestable frown. When she saw her father pull the woman into his lap and give another one of his signature laughs, the young girl emitted a groan of disgust and looked away. _"If mum could see him right now, she would knock his perfectly white teeth right out of his mouth."_

It was a given truth. Ever since the end of the Cell Games, her father had done nothing but boast to every Tom, Dick and Harry that they ran into on the streets about his achievement, and pranced about like he was lord of heaven and earth. He sung tales of his heroic bravery to the news reporters that came to get tabs on him and to document his life, which not only bloated the man's already massive ego, but embarrassed the raven haired girl to no end.

Knowing exactly who her father was and what he could do, Videl could say with a hundred percent certainty that the man was full of it.

"_All of his fame and glory has gotten to his head,"_ the child thought, at the same time noticing the land disappear and be replaced by ocean. Knowing that they were coming upon their final marker, Videl began relishing the moment she would finally be able to get off this circus ride. _"I hope somebody out there will come around and put my dad in his place."_

"Don't you worry nothin', doll! I'll win this intergalactic competition with both hands tied behind my back!" Hercule bellowed out, making kissy faces with the bashful flight attendant in his lap and at the same time throwing Cash's son across the way a victory sign. "After all, there's nothing that the Champ can't do! Am I right, little man?!"

"Yeah!" Cash's son, a dorky looking kid with glasses and wearing a sailor's uniform chirped while imitating the man's gesture. "Hercule Satan's the best!"

The show only seemed to annoy Videl even further.

"_And soon,"_ the girl concluded. Moments later, the chopper began its final leg.

OOO

(Some time later)

To those who were just touching down on the island serving as the main location for the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ being sponsored by the richest man in the world, X.S Cash, it was almost like they were stepping into the wildest theme park ever. Seriously. It was crazy.

Jets were flying overhead, spewing colored smoke that formed into the head and face of Hercule Satan himself, before the formation of fast-moving craft came back around and cut the cloud to ribbons with their wings in an impressive display of supersonic speed and grace. On top of that, the entire sky was filled with the cloud bursts of fireworks being sent up one after the other, the sounds of their explosions drowned out by the cheers and clamor of the crowds of thousands of people far below.

The sound of festival music blaring away over the speaker phones rounded out the rest of the atmosphere of what could be considered the greatest party the world had ever seen.

On the mainland, people gathered together by the hundreds around countless festival stands and rides, all of which had been set up to accommodate for the large number of visitors arriving by the boatload from all four corners of the globe. Flowing between tents, buildings and carnival rides that were already teeming with excited customers, the ocean of fiesta goers inevitably spilled over to a large pontoon bridge crossing over a wide channel onto a large segment of earth that was, for all intents and purposes, the main stage for this fun gala.

The surface of _Battle Island_ looked like a series of rocks that had been scrambled together and splattered atop a series of towers, pillars and platforms, the edifices of which seemed to blend seamlessly together into something akin to an M.C Escher masterpiece. Aesthetically, it was an impressive art piece. But as sound and flawless as the construct's design appeared on the surface, the mass of land was in fact an artificial island that'd been built by X.S Cash as a theme park-slash-adventure park for the masses. Due to its specially built interior and elaborate outer shell, it'd recently been retrofitted to host a far more prestigious event the likes of which the world has never seen before.

The world's largest martial arts competition in history, the once in a lifetime event featuring Mr. Satan himself, drew a ridiculously large crowd. Its many seats and balconies were already jam-packed with thousands of spectators, eagerly counting down the minutes left to the event's first round of the proceedings.

If it weren't for the island's solid foundations, the entire thing would have caved in on itself. But thanks to its frame and attention to detail, the island held firm, and the atmosphere leading up to the main affair was getting hotter and hotter with every second that ticked by.

"_**Welcome one and all to Battle Island; home of the very first Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament!"**_ was the announcement that greeted all newcomers to the shores of the hunk of rock and metal. _**"Today, we will pit the strongest warriors this planet has to offer against the mettle of the most powerful warriors from all four corners of the galaxy, by putting them and the contestants through a series of grueling challenges!"**_

These were the words that blasted from every speaker in the area as Gohan, Mirai Trunks, Bulma and Chi-Chi made their way through the thick of the crowd to their desired spots. Having arrived at the island only minutes ago, the four of them stepped off of their mode of transport, capsulated it and, after showing their tickets to the staff, made their way over to the registration desk. With the males leading the march, cutting a swath through the hundreds of patiently waiting attendees, the group eventually stopped at an intersection and took note of the sign that would send them down completely different pathways.

Moving left, the pair of mothers faced the two young men beside them who, in turn, also focused their attention on the women.

"Alright boys, good luck out there," Bulma exclaimed, shouldering baby Trunks up her arms as the child cooed away, "And don't forget to have fun." If there was anything she knew about Saiyans, it was that these boys _loved_ to fight.

Seeing the pair beam back in response, Chi-Chi nodded to them proudly, "But more importantly, don't you dare let yourselves get beat. That goes double for you, young man." She added to this by pointing down at her son.

Gohan grinned in response, "I promise I won't let you down, mum."

"We'll be sure to put on a good show for you guys," Trunks replied, giving the women a thumbs-up and watching them accept their words gladly.

"That's the spirit," Bulma giggled before turning to the raven haired woman beside her. "Come on, Chi-Chi. Let's go grab ourselves something to eat and drink. I'm famished."

"Sure."

With one last wave, the two non-combatants turned heel and left, disappearing into the crowd seconds later. Upon seeing the two off, Gohan and Trunks then turned their attention to their path on the right and the ascending staircase that awaited them.

Even though it didn't look it from a distance, this island was simply enormous. The place was just a maze of hallways, levels, balconies, and clogged with the distinct sensation of testosterone hanging in the air. That last bit of information was relevant to the two of them because the Saiyans could literally smell the competition surrounding them on all sides.

"Let's go find the sign-up desk," Gohan chirped, earning a nod of agreement from his time traveling friend. "We've got some time to kill until the tournament starts, but it would be best if we checked in before the station closes. They usually do that an hour or so before the start of the event."

"It shouldn't be too hard to find. Just follow the crowd," Trunks replied.

"And look for a bunch of guys that are dressed like martial artists," the other half-Saiyan added, coaxing a grin from the lavender haired man next to him.

Directions set, the pair were just about to get into traction until the sound of loud cheering drew their attention across the way. Following the sound of screams and the sight of dozens of people flocking towards the side of the main highway, they saw a helicopter land on one of the many platforms in the area. As soon as it touched down and the people had been ushered back by the security teams, they saw the door open and a very familiar face step into view.

Adorned in a flamboyant costume completely typical of a comic book superhero, with his gold lined belt flashing under the sun and cape bellowing on the wind, Hercule Satan made his grand appearance on the island. His manly roar drowned out the cries from his fans and drew the expected lightshow from the cameramen and news reporters circling around his transport.

With Gohan and Trunks' gazes set on the gorilla of a martial artist, they completely missed the sight of the little girl that came to stand alongside him.

"Heh. Look who it is," the Saiyan from the future chuckled, "The big man himself."

"Gee," the youngster next to him chimed in, "He really knows how to draw a crowd, doesn't he?"

Seeing the people continue to flock to the champ now striking poses for the cameras, Mirai shrugged, "Well, as long as he clears the road for us, then I have absolutely no problems with this." He then started forward, glancing back at the boy gazing curiously in the direction of the helicopter platform. "Come on. We'd better get a move on. Otherwise we'll miss the registration."

"Yeah." Acknowledging his friend's statement, Gohan quickly fell in step with him and the two hybrids headed up to the office.

Hopefully, somewhere along this road, they would bump into their other friends. Given the circumstances, they wouldn't be surprised if they happened to run into them somewhere down this footpath or in the ring when the fighting started.

While the two half-Saiyans headed on their way, commotion over by the Hercule Express had reached its highest point yet. Marching down to the base of the helicopter, the world champion and self-proclaimed most powerful man in the world was almost instantaneously swamped by reporters.

"Champ! Champ! Over here!"

"Mister Satan! Can you tell us how you feel about the tournament today?!"

"Will you be participating in any of the preliminary rounds, Champ?"

"Champ! Diana from_ Channel 10: West City_!" a woman with brown hair and wearing a pink suit spoke up as she jabbed her microphone towards the imposing 'warrior'.' "How do you feel about your chances in the ring with so many fighters flying in from all over the world to compete for the one-hundred million prize money?"

Smiling smugly at the questions bombarding him from all sides, the towering martial artist with the afro cut and muttonchops stuck his nose in the air and answered the crowds with a booming voice. "Well, Diana. All I can really say is that it's been a while since I've actually had to break a sweat during a fight. What I'm really hoping for today is to challenge the best that our planet has to offer and to test their mettle! The sucker would need the Gaul of a warrior of my stature to actually compete on equal terms with me; the undefeated and undisputed champion of the world!"

"So you're saying your chances are pretty high then?" the woman asked again, at the same time catching sight of the billionaire X.S Cash and his family stepping out to join the world's 'strongest' martial artist in the spotlight.

"That's for my audience to decide," Hercule exclaimed, pulling a tough-guy pose and giving a thumbs-down towards the commoners that lay before him. "What do you say, people? Do you think there is a person alive on this island who can trade blows with your savior?!"

"_**NO!"**_ was the immediate, collective response from every single fan in sight.

"That's what I thought! YEAAAAHHH!" Hercule bellowed, throwing his fists into the air and drawing another chorus of cheers from the people.

Eyebrow twitching at the sheer volume of her father, which completely dwarfed the outcry of the audience, the cool-looking Videl exhaled in annoyance before deciding to head off. Her sudden vacating of Hercule's right flank drew the big man's immediate gaze after her.

"Uhh… Videl… w-where are you going, sweet pea?" the man whispered after her.

Eyes shut in an effort to ignore the reporters and camera flashes, the eleven-year-old stopped in her tracks, "I'm going to check out the island… and maybe find a seat up in one of the bleachers."

"But uhh… we both got front row seats up in Mr. Cash's personal skybox," Hercule replied, completely confounded by why his daughter was leaving so hastily, "What better spot on the island is there than on a roving, five-star lookout with lobsters and caviar?" By this point in time, the reporters had also noticed the raven haired girl standing ahead of their beloved hero and, within seconds, began snapping pictures of her from all sides.

"Anywhere, as long as it's away from you," the clearly embarrassed girl replied, mumbling the last part under her breath.

"Huh? Did you say something, sugar bee?"

"Whatever dad," Videl waved back, restarting her trek into the crowd and out the other side. "Have fun up in the penthouse."

Hercule watched his daughter make her way through his army of followers, passing by a few of the reporters and a photographer who thought it would be a good idea to try and get a shot of the Champ's daughter up close. His camera flash resulted in his hundred-zeni equipment being snatched out of his grip and dropped to the floor by the child, an action which effectively cracked the lens.

"I wonder what's gotten into her," X.S Cash's representative for the event, a man in a dark, striped suit and slicked back hair thought out loud.

"She seems to be a little bit upset," Mrs. Cash, a fair woman in a white sundress and wide hat remarked while bringing her hand up to her lips troublingly. "Don't you think so, dear? Maybe the flight over the ocean made her ill."

"Or perhaps she was simply overcome by the excitement of this tournament," the billionaire himself, a portly man with dark hair, mustache, square glasses and purple suit spoke up, at the same time adjusting one of the many diamond rings on his hand. "Her father is the savior of the world after all. I'm not surprised that someone as young as her would feel a little bit intimidated in the presence of the most powerful man in existence… even if she is Mr. Satan's daughter."

"Heh. Ain't that the truth?" his attendant chuckled.

At first scratching his head over his daughter's rather disgruntled mood, Hercule then shrugged it off and returned to bolstering his ego in front of the crowd. "Oh well… CHECK OUT THIS POSE, LADIES! HA-HA! WATCH ME FLEX THE BIG GUNS!" And that's exactly what he did. "BOOM! BANG! FIRE POWER, YEAH!"

With the crowd's clamor starting up again and all attention fixing upon the earth's hero, everyone completely missed the sight of Videl stopping to glare back at her father on the platform. Taking in his usual antics for several seconds more, the girl groaned under her breath and continued on walking, deciding to lose herself in the madness of her surroundings.

She sighed, _"He's such an idiot."_

Whatever happened to the humble young man that her mother fell in love with all those years ago? Taking into account all of the things that'd happened recently, Videl had no doubt in her mind that the man she could hear standing out in the crowd of vultures was nothing more than a shadow of his former self. After watching the events of the Cell Games on television, all the way up to the point the reception cut out, even the daughter of the world's supposed hero found it hard to believe she was even related to the guy.

Seeing him flaunt about his home on a daily basis with a new woman every day and witnessing what he was like off camera made Videl believe that there was no way her dad could be the savior of anything.

She was perhaps one of the only people in the world who believed this.

Having grown tired of the man's antics on their flight over, Videl decided to dismiss any and all other thoughts of her father and focused on something else. She wanted to go find a seat in the commoner's stands to watch the battles in peace, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

OOO

(Half an hour later)

After successfully locating the registration desk, Gohan and Trunks lined up with the rest of the competitors and spent the next several minutes chatting away and waiting patiently for the counter to free up. Once both of them had their names written down and had received the numbers of the platforms they'd been assigned to, with about an hour or so left to kill on their watches, the two young males then decided to go try and find the others and maybe grab something to eat before the fights started.

While Mirai headed in his own direction to locate the familiar ki he could sense scattered around the place, the younger Saiyan marched straight for the food court. There, he quickly found himself in the center of a buffet paradise, with fast food stalls and cafes dominating his line of sight on all sides.

Taking note of the center space, which was filled with dozens of outdoor tables and seats, all of which were occupied by hundreds of visitors, Gohan took a moment to scan the area for ki signatures.

His senses homing in on a group of familiar presences, the spiky haired youngster brightened up when his eyes landed on the little mime, anthropomorphic pig, and elderly man seated around one of the outdoor tables. Without a moment's hesitation, the half-Saiyan quickly jogged on over to them.

"Oolong. Master Roshi. Chiaotzu. Hey!" the young warrior exclaimed, skidding to a stop at their table.

The moment their names were called, the original members of Goku's crew turned to greet the beaming young man.

"Why, if it isn't young Gohan," the old turtle hermit spoke, his red sunglasses flashing at the sight of the familiar male in orange.

"I knew I'd find you guys somewhere around here! What's up?"

"Not much kid. Just shooting the breeze and checking out the competition," Oolong responded, at the same time sparing a glance towards a cute young blonde in a halter top and figure hugging jean shorts walk by their table. The giggle he and Master Roshi gave when they saw her amble away had Gohan glance after her as well, but then shrug it off moments later. "We've got a lot of potential customers popping up here and there, so you know we've got a lot of information to sift through. Other than that, things have been going great."

Ignoring the pig's off-beat comments, Chiaotzu, sitting quietly with a can of ice tea in his hands, smiled up at the much taller half-Saiyan. "What about you, Gohan? Have you already signed up for the competition?"

"Yeah. Trunks and I put our names down just a few minutes ago, so we're both good," the young man responded immediately, thumbing over his shoulder. "We were both assigned to different blocks, so we'll be splitting up before the starting bell."

"Oh. So Trunks is here as well, is he?" Master Roshi chuckled with a smile breaking through his beard. "This competition sure has gotten interesting."

"Yeah, and with Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Piccolo in it, you know things are going to get rough," Oolong chimed in, bringing up his soda and taking a swig of it. Exhaling afterwards, he then swirled his drink sagely. "Let's face it; this tournament isn't big enough for the six of them. At least a couple of our boys are going to get knocked off the charts in the first round."

"Meh, probably," Master Roshi murmured.

Positively beaming with delight, Gohan then felt something fluffy brush past his ear and looked over his shoulder to see the familiar blue form of Puar hover into view.

"Gohan!" the floating cat squeaked, at the same time throwing himself at the boy in a hug.

Giggling at his other friend's greeting, the youthful half-Saiyan gently pushed the shapeshifter away, "Hey, Puar. Good to see yah. How're you doing?"

"Great! Yamcha's been doing great as well."

"Really?"

The floating shape shifter nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. He's been really excited about this tournament and has been talking about it for days."

"Heh. Of course he was… until he heard that Piccolo had entered the competition to fight against you and the others. After that, his mood just did a complete nosedive," Oolong remarked, shaking his head at the man who was once considered a strong member of their group many, _many_ years ago. "How the mighty have fallen."

"Ah, don't say that Oolong. I think Yamcha's got a really good chance in this tournament," Gohan chirped, beaming down at the pig thinking so poorly of their comrade. "He may not exactly be on Piccolo's level, but he's definitely in the same league as Tien and Krillin. If he's willing to give it a shot, I think he could give either of them a run for their money."

"Whatever you say kid," the pig shot back with a smile. "It _is_ a hundred million big ones after all. Anyone's bound to put up a good fight for that. But as long as you, Trunks and Piccolo are in this tournament, I just don't see him or anybody else making it past the preliminaries."

Gleeful at the banter he was able to share with his companions, Gohan spent a few minutes chatting with them before deciding to duck out and grab a snack. Trotting over to one of the stalls with the shortest lines, the young half-Saiyan found himself rocking back and forth on his heels and checking out the items on the menu. Licking his lips at the sight of some yakisoba being made at the stove, the boy moved a few steps closer and had his gaze drawn to the young man working at the counter.

It was then he noticed the raven haired girl with the pigtails standing directly in front of him.

"I would like some ice tea and dango please," the girl in the red shirt and long green sleeves spoke.

The worker in the café style uniform smiled and jabbed the order into his till, "That'll be ten zeni, thanks."

Reaching into her pocket, the eleven-year-old spent a couple of seconds patting around her jeans before a murmur escaped her lips. "Hey. W-What the?" Moments later, Videl threw her head up and groaned, "Ah, damn it. I left my wallet back at home." Why the hell did she do that?

Every time she went out she never forgot to bring her wallet with her. But on the very day that she and her father were flying out to one of the biggest events in the history of the world, she'd gone on and left it on her desk by her laptop. She figured since they would be dining with X.S Cash the entire day she wouldn't need it for anything and had forgone standard morning preparations.

She had nobody to blame for this one but herself.

Cursing while the man behind the serving desk waited patiently for the girl to make a decision, Gohan, who'd been observing the commotion from behind, heard the girl's plight loud and clear and looked between her and the cashier troublingly. Recognizing that the girl had no money with her and was now looking forlornly towards the register, Gohan made the quick and easy decision to help her out.

Being the kindhearted soul that he was, there was no way he could leave someone hanging like this, even if they were a complete stranger.

Fishing into his pocket for some bills, the boy stepped forward and held the money out to the man. "I'll pay for it." His words surprising Videl and the worker, Gohan smiled towards the teen and stood up to full height. "That was ten zeni for an ice tea and dango, right? That's cool. Could I also get some yakisoba chicken noodles and a bottle of water with that please?"

Quickly shaking out of his daze, the service man smiled, "No problem, sir." Taking the money, the young worker processed it through the machine and handed Gohan his change. "Please wait off to the right for your orders. They should be ready shortly." Once the coins were dropped into his palm, the half-Saiyan and the raven haired girl stepped aside, allowing the next couple of people to make their picks.

Sensing a set of eyes on him, Gohan looked across to see the girl standing alongside him still staring up at his face with a bewildered gaze in play. Balking slightly at the sight of her striking blue eyes, the young hybrid smiled, "Hey."

"You didn't have to do that for me, you know," Videl spoke, still reeling a bit from the boy's gesture of kindness.

While she wouldn't have minded if she didn't get anything, since she could probably make her way back over the X.S Cash's luxury skybox if she wanted something to eat or drink, it'd still come as a bit of a shock to her that somebody, a person she'd never even met before, had come out of nowhere and used his own money to purchase food for her. In her many years of going out into the big city and shopping for the very few things that she needed, Videl had never seen or had someone do that for a complete stranger, let alone her.

The fact that it was a boy around her age, someone who probably wouldn't have had Good Samaritan approach as the first thing on their mind, that'd done it for her, came as an even bigger surprise to her.

"I could have paid for the stuff myself."

Gohan gave her a look, "Huh? B-But I thought you said you'd forgotten your wallet and that you didn't have any money with you. You also looked pretty upset about it, so I decided to help you out."

"Yeah, well…" Hesitating at first, the girl then threw the boy a momentary glare, "I would have found a way to pay for the food and drink myself. Alright? You didn't have to step in and use _your_ money to buy the stuff that I wanted to get. Normal people don't do that for others." Not unless they were some kind of alien from outer space that lacked the concept of social interaction. Videl folded her arms and looked away, "I would have been just fine on my own."

"A-Alright," Gohan replied, deflating slightly as his gaze fixed onto the ground at his feet.

Noticing the boy's sudden shift in mood, Videl saw the young man's face turn from a once cheerful, farm-boyish vision of brightness to one of hurt and discomfort. It was almost as if his act of helping her had ended up hurting the person he was aiding, which in turn reflected on his actions.

Quickly realizing she may have been a bit too harsh on him in her remarks, Videl took a moment to reconsider her words and looked away shamefacedly, "I'm… really sorry. I shouldn't have responded like that. You did just pay for my food and drink after all." She then glanced across at the young man to see him look up at her in surprise. "Th-Thank you."

His brain processing her words of gratitude, Gohan then broke out his widest grin and nodded back to her happily. "You're welcome."

Beaming at seeing the cheerfulness return to his expression, which in turn brightened up her own mood as if she were standing by the sun itself, the raven haired girl turned to face him fully. "My name's Videl. What's your name?"

"Gohan," the boy chirped in response, at the same time staring gladly towards the teen. "It's… very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

The pair shared a smile with one another, an exchange that had them caught up for the longest of pauses.

They were so engrossed with staring at the person in front of them that they almost completely missed the sound of their orders being called out from the stand.

(TO BE CONTINUED)


	2. A New Form of Entertainment

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_A New Form of Entertainment_

(Meanwhile – Otherworld, Snake Way)

"So… how's the tournament coming along, King Kai?" the familiar, chirpy voice of Goku spoke up, drawing his mentor's gaze over to him and across the large mountain sticking up out of the clouds. Seeing the Saiyan approach, the Kai of the North took note of the enormous pile of food he was also carrying in his arms, "Has it started yet? Did I miss anything?"

"Not quite. They've just closed the registration desk and are setting up the arenas for all of the fighters," the Kai replied, hands folded over his stomach as he sat there on the deck chair with his eyes once again fixing upon the television crackling away in front of him. "I gotta say this is a pretty big tournament… much bigger than any of the other ones I remember seeing on earth before."

"I know. It's exciting, isn't it?" the Saiyan bearing the halo exclaimed, stopping behind his teacher. "Every year more and more people turn up to compete. How many fighters are there at this one?"

"Hmm… I'd say around roughly … two hundred strong."

"Two hundred?" Goku whistled, his eyes reflecting his amazement, "The prize money must be pretty awesome to draw in that big of a crowd."

"Yeah. Most of the people that'd signed up for the competition are more interested in winning the cash prize than fighting the 'Champ' and his 'alien' compatriots," King Kai snorted. He'd seen what the visitors from outer space looked like through the television and, curious as ever, decided to hone in on them to determine whether or not they were the genuine article. Sadly, they weren't. They were just a bunch of Hercule's top students dressed in ridiculous costumes that no man on the face of the planet would be caught dead in. The reality of the situation had King Kai sigh in disappointment. "The days where warriors fought for honor and glory are long gone now."

"You think so?" Goku asked.

A smile spread across the North Kai's lips, "Well… that may be true for most people, but your friends and family are a different story."

Oh yes, how could he forget about the Z-Fighters? Out of all the martial artists on the planet, _their_ group was the only one who really fought for the sheer fun of it (the strongest ones anyway). Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Tien… for them fighting was a passion and a way of life. This went double for Goku and triple for the Prince of Saiyans, who took things like honor and pride to a whole other level.

Even Gohan had taken on more of his father's qualities.

Speaking of which…

"Hey, how's my son doing?" Goku asked while gleefully looking into the magic box, watching the images of the island stadium's numerous platforms flicker by. "He's in this tournament too. Is he feeling okay?"

"Oh, your son is doing just fine," King Kai responded, glancing at the man eagerly peering over his shoulder. "He's been training really hard for the last few weeks and he's been getting stronger ever since his battle against Cell. I have to say, he's made some excellent progress."

"Chi-Chi's letting Gohan train?" Goku was especially surprised at this news, which saw him gawking across at his mentor. "S-Since when?"

"Since he talked her into letting him over a month ago," King Kai snorted, watching as the camera switched over to another part of the island. "That boy of yours sure is something else. He's grown into a fine young warrior with a big heart. If you ask me, he's starting to look more and more like you each day. With that bright smile and passion for fighting, he's almost the spitting image of a younger _you_."

Smiling proudly, the spiky haired, orange-clad Goku beamed down at the screen as the intermission period continued, "Yeah. That's my boy alright. It's a shame I can't be down there with him."

King Kai then threw him a witty look, "Are you saying that because you want to be with your son… or because you want to participate in the tournament?"

"Both," was Goku's first response before his expression softened greatly. The twinkle in his eye was more than enough to tell the blue-skinned overseer of their quadrant what the man was really thinking, "But I'd rather be with my family more than anything else."

This brought a smile to all those who were listening, including Gregory and Bubbles who were messing around at the cards table behind them. Even though Goku had chosen to remain in the netherworlds to protect his family and friends from any and all enemies that were likely to come after him, they could still see that the Saiyan missed being with his loved ones. It had been a harsh and difficult decision for him to make, even if the earth's greatest hero had practically labeled himself as a jinx. All the same, everyone believed that it was for the best.

He said that he would come back whenever he could and until then he was going to have to be ready to face the aggravated storm that was his wife. Boy… was Chi-Chi going to be mad.

As they continued to watch the screen intently from their positions, the pair then saw the feed flip over to one of the random roaming cameras in another part of the island. Recognizing the familiar environment of an enormous food court, King Kai and Goku spent a moment admiring the festive setup with interest before both their expressions suddenly switched to looks of surprise.

Sitting right there at one of the tables, they saw Gohan eating and chatting animatedly with a girl with raven black hair and pig tails around the same age as him.

Seeing the pair giggle at what they deduced was a little joke, King Kai's sunglasses flashed mischievously, "Hello? What's this?"

"Hey! It's Gohan," the Saiyan exclaimed in delight, before his gaze fell upon the newcomer, "Huh? Who's that? I don't think I've ever seen _her_ before."

"It looks like your son's made a new friend," the otherworld trainer remarked, a statement which brought a look of pleasant awe followed by a wide grin to Goku's face moments later.

OOO

(Back on Earth)

If getting onto the island was hard enough, finding a spot in the stands overlooking the various battle platforms to watch the fights was even tougher. This was especially the case for both Chi-Chi and Bulma who, after purchasing some snacks and beverages from one of the food stands in their area, quickly headed up to one of the higher levels to find a seat. Having to navigate their way through countless civilians flocking in the exact same direction, the pair eventually secured a spot in one of the upper balconies right at the front.

It'd been a stroke of luck. After making themselves comfortable, the two mothers only had to wait a short while before the announcer's voice blared out across the island via the enormous intercom system that'd been setup.

"_**Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! We will now be starting the first round of the tournament!"**_ the loud, charismatic voice of the primary mediator spoke up, drawing a loud cheer from the thousands of people scattered across the landmass._** "All fighters please make their way to their assigned platforms to begin the preliminaries!"**_

"Alright! It's starting," Bulma exclaimed, with the crowd behind her sharing similar phrases and remarks of enthusiasm. With her infant son held securely in her arms, the blue haired woman turned to smile across at her friend. "Let's see if we can spot the others as they're coming out."

"Yeah. That shouldn't be too hard," Chi-Chi replied, leaning forward with her companion to begin scanning the blocks one after the other. "All we have to do is look for the most unique and outstanding group in the competition," And the one that would be, in relative terms, kicking the most ass.

For the next fifteen minutes following the message, the two women watched on as hundreds upon hundreds of martial artists poured out into the open and onto the various open stages that would serve as the arenas for the first round of opening fights. Each one of these elevated platforms represented a block on the tally that the fighters were assigned to, and it was here that the competitors would decide who would be moving on to the quarter finals through a series of eight separate battle royale matches. Since there were over two-hundred fighters present, all of whom had been randomly assigned to each platform, the crowds were almost guaranteed to get one hell of a show.

As they were watching more fighters spill out into the arenas, Chi-Chi's face lit up and she pointed towards one of the tower rings, "Hey, I can see Krillin." He wasn't that hard to miss; short, bald, with the trappings of a monk and wearing the signature orange and blue uniform of the Turtle School. With Bulma also spotting her friend of years past waving towards the crowd, the two women beamed with joy, "Heh. Check it out. He looks pretty upbeat today."

"Yeah. I figured out of our entire group, he would be the first to show up for this tournament. Since he and Goku participated in so many of the World Martial Arts Championships together, it doesn't surprise me one bit to see him at this one. It must be his way of honoring the memory of his best friend," Bulma commented, a warm smile reflected on her face before her eyes suddenly rolled moments later, "_That_ or the enormous prize money dragged him down here."

Chi-Chi giggled, "He probably thought nobody else from our team would be signing up for the event and put his name down under the impression that this was going to be a walk in the park. Too bad for him that Gohan and Trunks wanted to come along as well."

Both unanimously agreeing that it was the prize money that had called the Z-Fighters here, except for maybe a couple of them, both Bulma and Chi-Chi went back to scanning the mob of fighters.

"There's Yamcha!" Bulma called out, pointing across to the third stage to see her orange-wearing ex-boyfriend ambling out into the open.

"Yeah. And there's Tien," Chi-Chi chimed in, pointing towards a third platform across the way where the three-eyed man could be seen standing on the edge of the crowd with his arms crossed. "Cool as a cucumber, as usual. He's probably one of the only people here who's not interested in the prize money at all. He's just looking for a good fight."

"And if those two are here, then that means Oolong, Puar and the others must be somewhere around here as well," the blue haired woman added, while glancing across at her best friend with a smile. "I don't see Chiaotzu on any of the arenas. Maybe he's sitting out on this one."

Seeing as how the short, mime-like fighter wasn't able to keep up with the others too well anymore, it made perfect sense to the pair that he would prefer to watch the fights rather than participate in them. Nobody thought any less of him for it and nobody was going to hold his decision against him.

"Ah. Check it out. Another familiar face just rocked up," the scientist chirped when she glanced at another grand stage to her far left.

When her eyes landed on the same area, a low groan escaped Chi-Chi's lips, "Well, if it isn't Mr. Piccolo." The young woman sighed, "Figures he'd be out and about. He must have caught wind of the tournament over the airways and decided to come down here for a bit of fun." The prize money obviously didn't beckon the Namekian here. What would an alien warrior from another planet and a former Demon King who only drank water possibly need with a hundred million zeni?

Despite having come to tolerate Piccolo and view him as an old family friend, Chi-Chi still felt a little iffy about him at times. Maybe he was just a little too strange for the Son mother to really become attached too… or maybe because his aloof personality made him close to unapproachable. She was learning more towards the latter than the former.

After seeing Trunks roll out onto one of the platforms above Krillin's, Bulma's smile brightened, "Well… that should be everybody. The only one I don't see out there yet is Gohan."

"He's probably still wandering around the food court or exploring the island," Chi-Chi wondered out loud, shaking her head and looking across at the blue haired scientist. "Just like his father. He thinks more with his gut than he does with his brain." Her expression then blinked to one of confusion as she watched the young mother make funny faces to her giggling son. "Speaking of fathers, didn't you ask Vegeta if he wanted to come along?"

This question quickly had Bulma frown and look towards the platforms exasperatedly, "Hmph. No way. The guy's been moping around the house every day for the past month. He's not even going out to train anymore. I don't know what's gotten into him."

Chi-Chi, giving it a moment of consideration, looked back over the railings in front of her solemnly, "He hasn't been the same since Goku died."

After several moments of thought, the raven haired woman decided that they'd had enough negativity and decided to brighten the mood a little. Sucking it up, the Ox King's daughter reached into her purse and pulled out two fans with the words 'Son' and 'Victory' imprinted on each one. Since she was here to support her number one, she was going to give it her all and make sure he had all the positive energy he needed to win.

All she needed to complete the equation was a son to support who, as of right now, was still absent from the arena.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

Beaming across at the raven haired girl on the other side of the table, Gohan set his chopsticks down and folded his arms on the surface of it, "So you're a martial artist as well, huh?"

"Yeah. I've been learning how to fight ever since I was four years old. That was back when my dad was training for the next World Martial Arts Tournament and was still living in a small house with my mum," the raven haired girl said, fumbling about with her used kebab sticks before setting them and her plate aside. "He was a great man back then. Dad taught me all of the moves and techniques I needed to know and for the past several years I was the best student in his class. But… recently I stopped taking his group sessions and started training by myself."

"Hmm? Why's that?"

Videl shrugged and looked away with an off-handed gesture, "Let's just say that I've grown a little tired of his teaching practices and everyday shenanigans. It was all fun and games at first and I loved hanging out with my dad… but then he started acting all high-and-mighty the more famous he got, and I decided to follow my own training regimen. I wanted to expand my horizons and learn other forms of fighting that didn't involve his showboating… so that's what I did… and it's what I'm still doing."

"Oh." Puzzled by her rather off-put response, the spiky haired hybrid leaned forward, "Who is your dad, anyway?"

Glancing across at the boy to see his curious gaze staring back at her, the girl breathed a sigh and turned to face him fully, "You should know him. Hell, the entire world knows who he is and what he supposedly did." She then gave him a serious look, "My father's the 'great' Hercule Satan: the Champion of the World and the man who defeated the earth's greatest terror, Cell."

Gohan had the sense of mind to blink in surprise, "Really?"

Videl nodded and turned away irritably once more, "Yeah. The one and only." After that, her mind started to work and her displeasure started to sink in. _"Great. Now this really nice boy I just met is gonna start fawning over me like everybody else I run into. Damn it…"_ She mentally bumped herself in the head for messing up what could have been something great.

However, after a minute of waiting for the praise and exclamations she was expecting to receive from the energetic adolescent, Videl then looked up in confusion when she got nothing. Eyes slowly panning over to the youngster, she saw he was still sitting there, in his seat, with the same innocent look he'd worn while he'd been listening to her for the past hour.

After a moment of silence, the raven haired girl recoiled, "W-What?"

"Oh. Nothing," Gohan answered quickly and smiled once again, "I just wanted to ask what other fighting styles you were interested in practicing. That's all."

"Huh?" Videl was baffled, "Y-You don't care that my dad is the world champion; the man who single-handedly defeated the greatest terror of our age?"

"Hmm?" the young demi-Saiyan pulled back a little before cheering up a second time, "Oh. Yeah. I think it's great that your dad is super famous and all, but I'm more interested in hearing about you and what you like."

"Uh… buh…" The girl was speechless, unable to form an articulate word in her mouth. After a few attempts, she then shook herself out of her reverie and stared back at the grinning youngster in disbelief, "B-But why? Surely I can't be as interesting as my dad. Don't you want to ask me about him and all the stuff he does?"

"Well… umm… how can I put this?" Gohan then regarded the girl with a bit more consideration and a sincere gaze. "I can tell from looking at you that you don't like how your dad acts and that you don't want to talk about him right now. If I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about your dad either." He then tilted his head and sent her a disarmingly friendly smile, "I'd rather just listen to you and chat about stuff we're both interested in, you know… and get to know each other a little better."

After looking him in the eyes to determine whether or not the boy was messing with her, Videl stared back at him in amazement. _"H-He really isn't interested in my dad at all." _From his sincere remarks and cheerful statements, Videl could only blink and gulp. "Really? You just want to… talk about other things?"

"Yeah," Gohan nodded promptly and gave the girl a warm smile. "I think you're a really interesting person with a lot of different hobbies and interests. I don't live too close to the city and I don't go out to town very often. You're also one of the first kids I've met outside of my area who's as passionate about fighting as I am." He then grinned and leaned across the table, causing the girl to pull away a little. "I think its super cool that you want to learn more about martial arts outside of your father's classes. You must be super talented if you're able to train all by yourself."

Taken aback by Gohan's exclamations and how close his face suddenly became to hers, Videl was quick to process the youngster's words and look the kid square in the eyes. Noticing every intricate detail of his profile from her proximity with him, from his friendly smile, to his boyish nose, to his honest gaze and to his locks of wild black hair framing his face, the girl felt her breath unexpectedly catch in her throat and looked away momentarily.

Feeling her cheeks warm, Videl shuffled uncomfortably on the spot and smiled, "Th-Thanks."

"No problem."

Before either one of them could say anything else and continue on with their banter, the speakers in the food court blared into life once again and drew their focus upwards. _**"Attention all fighters; please report to your assigned platforms. The preliminary rounds will be starting in five minutes."**_

"Oh! Right! The fights!" Gohan exclaimed, quickly leaping to his feet and moving towards the exit. Stopping for but a moment, he turned back to the table and grinned across at Videl, "I have to get going now."

Stumped by the boy's sudden haste, the raven haired girl spluttered and stood up, "W-Wait. You're participating in this tournament?"

"Yeah," the half-Saiyan responded immediately without hesitation. "My friend Trunks and I signed up together and were given separate blocks for the first half of the tournament. Maybe after we get through the first round I'll be able to meet up with him in the quarter finals and have a match with him."

Videl had to resist the urge to stumble, "B-But… you're just a kid! And there are hundreds of other fighters out there." Massive ones too. That Doskoi sumo wrestler in particular was terrifyingly huge.

"Yeah… but that doesn't mean I can't try," Gohan replied, giving the girl a salute. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

At first appearing stunned, Videl slowly managed to pull herself out of her stupor and float back down to earth. Initially hesitant when figuring out a way to respond to the demi-Saiyan, the young fighter in training then gave the beaming boy a smile and a nod, before then raising her hand in a timid wave. "O-Okay. Good luck, Gohan."

With one final gesture of his own, the gutsy Z-fighter took off and vanished into the crowd, leaving Videl standing alone by the table.

Upon seeing him disappear, the girl remained there in silence for a few moments. Videl fingered her empty bottle of tea, looking down at it while thinking about the young man and everything they'd talked about. No doubt, Gohan was the nicest boy she'd ever come across and, whenever she'd seen him smile, it'd brought one to her lips as well. The hour they'd spent eating and chatting with one another had been the most fun she'd had on an outing in a long time.

And damn it, they didn't even exchange contact details! How was she going to find him again should he suddenly up and leave?

After thinking it over some more, Videl then made the unanimous decision as to what she was going to do next and, slapping her hand on the table, turned her gaze towards the exit.

"_I'm going to watch him fight."_ Hell, what else had she come here to do? Sit in the food court the entire time and sulk? While this day was really all about her dad, the 'aliens' and the competition that'd been lined up for them, after meeting Gohan and getting to know him a little, Videl now had somebody else in this wacked up, acid trip of a tournament to support.

It didn't hurt that she was also very curious about him and really wanted to see what a boy of his disposition could do. Not just anybody their age signed up to fight in a tournament with over two hundred strong fighters also participating. For all she knew, he had some secret weapon he was hiding.

So, leaving her plate and bottle where it was, the girl quickly abandoned the table and dashed out towards the nearest balcony, disappearing into the crowd just as Gohan had minutes before.

OOO

(A little while later)

The moment the starting gun was fired, the whole of _Battle Island_ exploded into a frenzy of excited cries and flying fists as all across the various disk-shaped arenas, every single fighter in sight went at each other all at once. From top to bottom of the oddly designed stadium, the audience watched on excitedly as the two-hundred plus martial artists began battling one another in a fantastic display of strength, agility and skill for a spot in the quarter finals of the competition, while at the same time trying to avoid getting pushed into the surrounding ocean.

As stated by the announcer, the rules of the preliminaries were simple. On each stage, over two dozen contestants would fight one another in a series of free style, free-for-all battle royals. Fighters are disqualified if they fainted, surrendered, or fell into the sea. The last one standing on each stage would move on to the quarter final rounds for a shot at the championships. Killing is prohibited of course, as was the use of weapons.

Right from the get-go, every single combatant threw themselves into the fray, dashing across their spaces in an effort to engage and take down as many opponents as they could. On one ring, the massive sumo wrestler Doskoi took on an entire swath of fighters attempting to force him over the edge. Managing to turn the tide with a quick reversal, he instead picked up the main balk of the group and shoulder tossed them over the side. The maneuver earned him a spirited cheer from the audience, who went on to watch the many other engagements taking place over the other platforms.

No man or woman was left out, as groups of fighters squared off against one another in heated one-on-one exchanges or all-on-one bouts with the most imposing competitors in their fields. It was a messy start at first what with the amount of bodies taking up each of the arenas, but when the warriors managed to find their speed, spaces and targets, the simultaneous battles quickly started to gain a little more traction.

For the Cash family overseeing the tournament from their roving skybox, the mother and father were completely invested in their fights, while their son was more interested in Hercule and his afro.

"You know, hair like this doesn't grow on trees. It takes a lot of tender care and special conditioners to actually get it like this," the man exclaimed to the glasses-wearing youngster, who was currently devouring a bowl of ramen like there was no tomorrow.

The Z-Fighters on the other hand, were having a ball in the madness of it all. Unlike in the tournament that'd been hosted by the maniacal Cell, this competition didn't have the entire world, population, or the fate of the universe at stake. Instead, it was an enormous free for all where each of the group's members could, for the first time in a long time, battle how they wanted and have some fun.

Krillin was especially enjoying himself, bounding across his platform which had a continually moving surface and clearing the stage of every single fighter in sight. The competition on his end was so easy in fact that he didn't even need to put any effort into his attacks. He just jumped from one block to the next in an invisible blur, knocking out guys with a gentle poke of his finger and backhanding them over the side of the platform.

A hearty laugh escaped his lips when he flicked a guy between the eyes and sent him tumbling into the sea, before placing his fists on his hips heroically. "That's Krillin with two 'L's' and I do accept personal checks. Thank you." Was pretty much his introduction while ducking a boxer coming in from his blind spot and effortlessly kicking him into the sky.

Unfortunately, the young monk's celebrations were cut short by a loud yet familiar cheer echoing in from the sidelines.

"GO GOHAN!"

Krillin's head snapped to his left where he saw, standing on one of the balcony's railings, his best friend's wife Chi-Chi waving a pair of fans around her in cheerleading fashion, while at the same time drawing odd gazes from the people behind her.

"BEAT EM' ALL! YOU CAN DO IT!"

The short fighter stammered in disbelief, "What? Gohan's fighting? But he's a Super Saiyan! That's not fair!" In fact, it wasn't fair for anyone. As it stood, Goku's son was currently the strongest man on the face of the planet and probably the entire universe.

In an instant, Krillin's confidence plummeted like a rock.

The feeling of despondency only seemed to gain weight when, moments later, the Z-fighter's ears caught on to the sound of a familiar battle roar. Looking to his right, Krillin then saw dozens of stunned fighters flying into the ocean one after the other, with the echo of rapid-fire blows reverberating across the island.

The sight and the presence of a powerful ki signature had Krillin pale.

"P-Piccolo too?" The man then glanced up with tears in his eyes. "Where's Trunks? Make it a full set." As soon as he said that, a swath of bodies crashed into the ground behind him, causing Krillin to spin around and look up. When he did, he freaked out when he saw, on the platform high above, the lavender haired face of Trunks peer over the side and smirk. The sight had Krillin scowl, "Me and my big mouth. This is now _officially_ unfair!"

xxx

Standing at the railings of the balcony just outside of the food court, Videl gazed across the island in silent awe as the battles taking place on the various platforms took off. From one arena to the next she saw swarms of fighters ramming into one another to clash in a furious display of skill and power. The diversity of forms and styles was simply extraordinary.

On some stages she saw small fighters using speed and technique to take on larger and much slower opponents. On others she saw massive fighters using their size and bulk to either knock out their foes or toss them into the sea. Then there were the unorthodox fighters, who used various techniques from in-fighting based ones to out-fighting strategies to swiftly overpower or outpace their adversaries.

All in all, it was one hell of a skirmish between professionals.

Ignoring the great majority, including the strange, turban wearing green man dominating the competition on his platform and the three-eyed fighter knocking his opponents out in rapid succession, Videl's attention swiftly turned to the one Gohan was on.

Easily recognizable from his orange and blue garb she'd seen him wear in the food court and his wild, untamed black hair waving on the wind, the young girl saw the boy battling on the lowest platform closest to the sea. Despite there being so many other people around him, she was able to make him out for one reason and one reason only.

He was clearing house of all his opponents.

Eyes widening in amazement, the girl watched on as Gohan darted between fighters at ludicrous speed and took each and every one of them out with a series of lightning fast punches and kicks. It was almost like he was gliding across the surface of the arena, like he had wires holding him up or something. What's more, not only were his attacks shockingly fast, nearly untraceable to the human eye; he was also wearing a big smile on his face, as if the act of taking out his opponents meant nothing to him.

He was knocking them out one after the other seemingly without effort.

To put it into perspective, Videl was astounded.

"Wow. He… He's amazing," the girl whispered, before a wide grin spread across her lips and she thrust a fist into the air in encouragement. "Yeah! Go Gohan! Get em'!"

Her heart was pounding as she called out his name. Whether it was from the excitement of watching the many fights taking place or his in particular she didn't know. All Videl knew was that she wanted to see Gohan kick ass, win, and push his way clear through to the finals.

xxx

"I can't believe Gohan and Trunks entered the tournament. Just my luck," the melancholic voice of Yamcha spoke up as he lay across a large, arcing surface with his hands behind his head, completely ignoring the fighting taking place far below. "Ugh. One-hundred million beautiful zeni."

Having signed up for the preliminaries hoping for an outstanding streak, despite being aware that Tien and Krillin were also participating, the moment he heard that Piccolo was also entering the competition, the Z-fighter's enthusiasm from the beginning of the day dropped. Figuring he should have done this in the first place, Yamcha then reached out with his senses to see who else was there.

Sure enough, the man had then let out a groan of defeat when he sensed Gohan and Trunks in the area too. So, wallowing in a sea of self pity, the human fighter immediately flew up to the top of the massive pole on his arena and lay there to mope.

A heavy sigh escaped Yamcha's lungs, "Oh well. It was a nice dream while it lasted."

xxx

Bulma gave a sympathetic smile when she saw her ex appear on the television screen atop his arena's spire across from them. "Poor Yamcha. I wonder what's wrong. He seems to have lost his drive." She had a good idea as to what was probably gnawing at him. Chi-Chi did as well.

The Son mother smirked and turned away, "The competition must be overwhelming."

Feeling haughty herself, Bulma spared the woman a grin, "True. How can anyone expect to beat Trunks?"

Catching onto that snide remark, Chi-Chi immediately threw her best glare at the Brief mother, "Except Gohan!"

Lying in his mother's arms, the Baby Trunks, who'd previously been enjoying the scenery, then looked up worryingly when he saw the two women stand up and begin shooting daggers at one another. The scene soon turned incredibly worrisome for him and the people in the surrounding seats when they saw menacing auras appear around the mothers and electricity start to crackle between them.

In fact, the scene became so tense that everyone completely missed the sight of the massive Doskoi backhanding one of his opponents into the pillar Yamcha was lying on, bending it, and sending the Z-fighter plummeting into the ocean. The man had the common courtesy to let out an unmanly scream as he fell several stories before crashing into the water.

xxx

With a loud rumble and a collective cry of terror, the remaining fighters on the lowest battle platform found themselves crowded together before being sent flying over the edge. The collection of bodies hitting the surface of the water concurrently caused a splash about three stories high, a sight that drew an excited cheer from the crowd.

After plowing the rest of the competition off of his platform, Gohan held up a fist and grinned from ear to ear. "I heard the World Martial Arts Tournaments helped hone my father's skills. Perhaps this Intergalactic version will do the same for me."

As soon as the cameras scanned the ring, the referee's voice came up over the speakers. _**"Son Gohan is the first to pass the preliminaries!"**_

Upon celebrating his victory by throwing the same fist into the air, the boy then turned to the stands where his mother was and waved. When he saw her wave back at him with her victory fans, the youngster then sensed out the new friend he'd made in the food court. Looking up towards one of the nearby buildings, he quickly spotted Videl standing at the balcony and, smiling radiantly, waved to her as well.

The pig-tailed girl, at first overwhelmed by the way Gohan had handily dealt with all of his opponents, couldn't help but grin back and let out a cheer. "Yes! Way to go!"

xxx

"_**Trunks advances!"**_ the announcer again announced inside of Cash's sky box, informing the family and their attendant of a second competitor. To the wealthy father and his wife, the sight drew expressions of interest and admiration.

To the mighty Champ Hercule though, it brought an expression of absolute dismay and horror. With spaghetti jammed inside of his mouth, the man gawked up at the screen when he recognized the faces of the advancers Gohan and Trunks sitting in the monitors. Able to recognize them from their attire and faces, the man could only shake his head in denial before turning toward another monitor.

There, he saw the moving platform retract and tilt, tossing all of the fighters standing on it into the ocean except for one, who managed to cling on despite all of the tumbling men and women making a grab for his head. He then gave the camera a victorious grin before his name was announced.

"_**Krillin moves on!"**_

"_It… It's them… the guys from the Cell Games!"_ the martial arts champion with the afro thought, a cold sweat dripping down his face as he rose from his seat. Nobody, not even the kid sitting right next to him, seemed to take notice of the statue of a man turning around to clamp a hand over his mouth in an effort to cover his expression of fear. _"W-Why are they here? T-This can't be happening… it's just… not possible…"_

Moments later, another announcement was made.

"_**And Piccolo is headed for the quarter finals as well!"**_

The sight of the green skinned man in the turban and cape had Hercule sink to his knees, curl up into a little ball and start whimpering like a girl. Miraculously, for him, none of the family seemed to take notice of that either.

It was one of the many perks of being a charlatan of his high standing. Everybody just seemed to overlook all of his shortcomings whenever it was convenient.

"_Nightmare… nightmare…"_

"_**Tien Shinhan has also made the cut!"**_

xxx

With the preliminary rounds coming to a decisive close, the fighters that'd qualified then moved down to the lowest section of the island for the start of the next round. Forming up into a line on the waiting stage, they turned their attention toward the large screen above. As soon as all eyes were on it, the monitor flickered on from a picture of their group to a tally, which showcased all of their profiles in pairs, aligning each of them to their opponents for the quarter finals.

The announcer began reading off the arrangement. _**"Ladies and gentlemen, the matchups for the eight quarter finalists have been decided! In the first round, we have Son Gohan vs Udo! Second match is between Trunks and Tien Shinhan! After that, Piccolo and Krillin will battle it out in the third match! And last but not least, we have Doskoi and Sky Dragon competing for the fourth spot in the semi-finals!"**_

While the crowd clamored excitedly, placing bets on who out of the selected would be most likely to advance, Krillin deflated on the spot.

"Oh man! I'm fighting Piccolo." For some strange reason, the tiles at his feet suddenly became incredibly fascinating. "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any." As if dreading the worst, the short man then glanced across at the Namekian standing at the end of the row of fighters, whom he saw smirk his way. The man's confident expression had Krillin shiver and gulp.

"_Yep. I'm boned."_

With their names announced, Gohan and Udo casually strolled out onto the large, circular platform that would serve as their battleground for this part of the finals. The crowds, expecting a big fight, cheered wildly as soon as they saw the two contestants appear on the screen, showing everyone which out of the remaining eight fighters would be battling it out.

Almost immediately on the first glance, it looked pretty grim for one of them.

The man the young demi-Saiyan was up against was enormous; a hulking, burly wrestler who stood at least one story high. Topped with a pair of blue fighting boots and red Speedos, the martial artist also had long blonde locks and a bushy mustache, matched by a very aggressive look in his sharp blue eyes. Needless to say, he had a very Western appeal to him, something that his hybrid opponent didn't take much notice of. Gohan was just glad to be fighting.

Videl, still holding her position up on the balcony, broke out into a bit of a sweat when she saw the person Gohan was set to fight. _"This doesn't look good."_ She hoped nothing bad happened to him.

Though she was actually referring to Gohan, in reality she should have been referring to his opponent.

"_**Fighters! Take your stances!"**_

Raising an eyebrow at the smiling child standing underneath his shadow, Udo snorted. "Feh. I'm fighting a baby? I gotta get a better agent," the man muttered to himself before giving the boy a wide grin in an attempt to intimidate him. "Hey listen, kid. I'm not into beating weaklings, but the training wheels are coming off today. Understand?"

Unshaken, Gohan brought his hands up, placed his right fist in his left palm and bowed. "I'm ready. Let's have a good fight."

The big man chuckled, "You've got a lot of guts kid… and I'm gonna show them to yah!" The second the starting bell rang, the man let out a snarl and reached down to grab the boy with his gigantic hands.

However, the second he saw his foe move, Gohan acted.

Focusing, the demi-Saiyan darted forward and, with a lazy sweeping kick, knocked the unsuspecting man off his feet and sent him flying. The poor, unsuspecting wrestler let out a startled cry when his body flew backwards at high speed, smashed through one of the stadium walls, and crashed into one of the stands a second later. The spectators in that box had barely enough time to barrel out of the way before the cannonball of a man crashed straight through their balcony, flew out the other side and soared over the ocean.

He landed in the water two kilometers away.

The entire island sat in stunned silence, save for one mother and her friend, who rose from her seat while punching the air victoriously.

"BOO-YAH! That's my son!"

Having watched the entire thing from her spot at the railings, Videl's sapphire blue eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates as she stared slack jawed at the splash Udo made in the distance.

Naturally, she was just as shocked as the rest of the island.

"W-Whoa. Did Gohan do that?"

If she had blinked she would have missed it. Even though she didn't, she swears she'd just missed something important.

xxx

After making a literal impression on the audience in the form of a massive, human-shaped hole in one of the bleachers, Gohan happily vacated the ring to make way for the next two contestants. Once everyone had been shaken out of their stunned reveries, the referee quickly went on to call the next two fighters, only to realize that they were both already out on the stage.

"_**M-Moving onto the second match, Trunks battles Tien Shinhan!"**_ the arbitrator stammered, drawing a cheer from the audience as they watched the two men prepare.

Knowing his next fight was going to be his toughest one yet, the three-eyed former assassin removed the white shirt from his back and tossed it away. Showing off his scarred, muscle-layered body, the man then took a deep breath and brought his fists to his sides.

Meeting the lavender haired Saiyan's gaze, Tien smiled, "Hey, Trunks. Whaddaya say we give these people a good show?"

The time-traveling warrior smiled and nodded in return. "Okay."

With the crowds cheering and the stage set, the officials sounded the bell. The second it blared, both Trunks and Tien vanished from the arena and bounded up the island from platform to platform in the form of two, fast moving blurs. Once they reached the apex, they both leapt into the sky and flew right at each other, engaging in a flurry of lightning fast blows hundreds of feet above sea level.

The sound of powerful attacks cutting through the air rang out as both Tien and Trunks danced across the sky, trading punches and kicks while dodging and parrying blows in turn. When the three-eyed fighter struck out, the hybrid Saiyan countered with a swift kick, only to be met with a check and a left hook, which he was forced to avoid. Both crisscrossed, avoiding simultaneous blows from the other before Trunks flew at his opponent with a spinning kick, which Tien ducked at the last moment.

Seeing his opponent fly past him, the triclops gritted his teeth and shot up after him with a swift one-two combo and a kick, all three of which Trunks calmly avoided before countering with a left roundhouse. The blow impacted against the human's chest with a sonic boom, the force of which sent Tien spiraling towards the ocean with the scream of a passing jet. However, before Tien could hit the water's surface, he pulled up at the last second and leveled out, tearing a shallow trench through the sea.

xxx

Up in X.S Cash's roving sky box, the entire family of three could be seen gawking out the window as they watched the battle between Trunks and Tien unfold. At first they'd all been sitting quietly and patiently, expecting to watch a simple ground match between the two contestants. But then, just as they were getting comfortable, their moods did a complete one eighty when the two men suddenly vanished and reappeared in the skies above the island seconds later, throwing punches at each other that simultaneously echoed with every swing and broke the sound barrier with every impact.

In a matter of seconds everyone, including the camera crew covering the family and the Champ's communal in their part of the island, were stunned.

"They're fighting in midair," the portly, wealthiest man in the world exclaimed, unable to comprehend what was happening. All he knew was that it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

His son was also speechless.

The mother, looking on nervously, glanced across at her husband, "Honey, are you sure they're not using wires?"

Her question was promptly silenced when the two fighters vanished once again and the sounds of sonic booms started to ring across the island like thunderclaps. Each invisible blast was marked by a tremor, which had the audience holding onto their seats and looking on in amazement when the two blurs that were the fighters darted through the sky in a fantastic aerial dogfight.

Wanting to get a secondary opinion, the reporter Sarah and her cameraman Tom, both of which were standing in the skybox, turned their attention to the world champion. Neither of them seemed to notice the look of abject horror on the man's face, as his back was completely turned to them.

"Mr. Satan. Can you explain this extraordinary event?" the woman asked, holding the mike out to him.

Timidly glancing over his shoulder, the afro fighter gulped before launching into a tirade of preposterous theories, "It's a simple parlor trick! They just make a quick switch-a-roo with smoke and mirrors, and what no-GAAAH!" He was cut off when the sound barrier seemingly exploded right next to their balcony and caused the entire island to shake, causing the people standing in the box to let out a startled yell before falling over.

Face-planting the cold floor, the thunderstruck Hercule Satan could do nothing except mutter gibberish to himself.

"Why… out of all the tournaments did they have to enter mine, I hate this." He could almost cry.

xxx

Their connecting blows taking the form of earthshaking thunder claps, the two fierce warriors engaged one another at invisible speed throughout the skies above the island. Eventually, after battling one another in their own plain of perception that literally shook several spectators out of their chairs, the two eventually reemerged in hot pursuit of one another.

Gaining altitude as fast as he could, Tien quickly spun around, threw both his hands up, and formed a familiar diamond shaped crosshairs. Gathering ki between his palms, he took aim with his hands and zoomed in on the approaching Trunks, who quickly spotted the attack being aimed at him.

"_**TRI BEAM-HAAAA!"**_ Tien bellowed, before unleashing a square shaped blast of golden energy from his hands that shot towards the hybrid at ridiculous speed.

The attack, despite its enormous size and range, was effectively dodged when Trunks zipped out of its path. The blast ended up striking one of the island's tors where, upon impacting, caused a massive explosion that not only disintegrated that uninhabited portion of the island and caused the formation of rock to topple into the shallows, it also generated towering waves in that rippled out across the ocean. The audience practically cried out in terror at the violent tremors the explosion created.

Ignoring the smoke and the debris pelting their surroundings, Trunks and Tien continued their battle. Darting through the air at great speed, the pair eventually collided with one another with simultaneous, full-body checks. The impact resulted in another enormous shockwave, which was followed by an ear-splitting crack when Tien's fist smashed across Trunks's face. The blow sent both blasting away from one another across the water, where they then suspended themselves to catch their breaths.

Seeing his foe smiling across at him and returning it likewise, Tien's face quickly became serious._ "He's still holding back a great deal of his strength. Looks like I'm going to have to go all out if I want to make him work."_ With that thought, Tien powered up, a white aura of energy exploding off of his body and enveloping him completely.

Responding to the threat, Trunks quickly shot up into the air to gain some distance. Once he'd secured a good altitude, he turned back to his opponent, threw his arms and legs out, and powered up as well. With a shout of effort, golden energy exploded off of the demi-Saiyan like wildfire and blasted outwards, a transformation which was marked by his hair spiking upwards, turning gold, and his eyes flashing a greenish-blue.

The crowds were completely awed by the display, watching on while the two glowing fighters prepared for a second bout.

Practically leaning over the railings at this point, a completely stunned Videl blinked in amazement when she watched the two competitors take off from their low altitude positions to engage each other above the island once again. At first overwhelmed by their sheer display of speed, ferocity and power, as well as their ability to fly, the girl was once again sent into an inner spiral of thought when she saw the pair light up like flames and start trading blows with one another at an even greater speed. It was completely mindboggling.

While she continued to watch the pair dogfight through the clouds and between the towering platforms, the raven haired girl remained completely silent, locked in a daze that would not be so easily broken. But then, as memories of watching the Cell Games flickered through her mind and a group of familiar faces from that same day began to surface, the child was eventually able to piece two and two together and soon enough blinked herself out of her startled reverie.

"_W-Wait a second… super strength, super speed, beams of bright energy… golden hair…"_ Videl's thoughts came to a screeching halt when she finally realized what she was looking at. _"Th-These are the people who were at the Cell Games with dad!"_

Holy crap. So the men who'd fought Cell after her father were here at this tournament as well. That was outstanding! Looking up at the screen showcasing all of the competitors, she was soon able to recognize four of the ones that she remembered seeing there on the news, as well as the one that'd been knocked out in the preliminaries by Doskoi. Startled by this discovery, the girl then took a moment to tally up the faces before looking out across the island a third time, watching on as more explosions rippled through the skies.

"_A couple of them are missing though,"_ Videl thought, since she couldn't see the blonde haired father and son anywhere. They were the two she remembered fighting Cell after her dad and his friends had been knocked out, and displayed the exact same powers as the fighter with the previously lavender hair now battling it out with Tien.

Of course, thinking on it a little more, after witnessing the competitor's startling alteration, Videl then realized that the father and son duo must have the same ability to change their hair color as well. Apparently this Trunks's normal hair color was purplish. If that were the case and his change in hair color was part of his transformation into that golden form, then the father and son from the Cell Games could probably do that too.

Despite this new information though, Videl still had a few more questions that had been left unanswered.

"_W-Where does Gohan fit in to all of this?"_ He obviously didn't display the normal traits of a strong fighter. The fact that he sent his previous opponent on a two kilometer flight was proof of that. Her dad was one of the strongest people she knew and even with his ridiculous hitting power; there was no way her father could do something even close to that. But again, after meditating on it a little bit more, something in the girl's mind clicked that had her staring at the screen with the demi-Saiyan's face smiling back at her. _"No way… could… could Gohan be…?_

After the things she'd seen and was now watching live in front of her, everything was starting to come together.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

(Capsule Corp – West City)

Far out of the way of_ Battle_ _Island_ and sitting across the bed in his room, the Prince of all Saiyans Vegeta, adorned in his full body spandex and armor, could be seen watching the television quietly with his arms folded and legs crossed. Having flipped to the channel of the fights earlier that morning, the man had then proceeded to watch with mixed interest as all of the Z-Fighters, sans Yamcha, dominated the battle royal portion of the Intergalactic tournament before moving on to the quarter finals.

However, after seeing Gohan's one-sided match against his hulk of an opponent and watching Trunks battle Tien to the point both of them powered up, the flame haired Saiyan quickly grew tired of the little sideshow and took immediate action.

Picking up the remote, Vegeta switched off the television and scoffed, "Hmph. Give me a break." He then set the remote down and fell back into his pillow, hands behind his head.

Right now, the last thing he wanted to think about was fighting. So, finding a serene place of his own in the far corners of his mind, the man shut his eyes and decided to take a nap; completely ignoring the television and his son's sword gleaming in the corner behind him.

OOO

(Back on the Island)

"Well… it looks like Tien is done for," Krillin murmured to himself, rubbing his arm uneasily as he continued to observe the aerial light show between the Super Saiyan and his human opponent. "I can give him extra points for effort, but that man has gotta face the fact that he was beaten the moment he stepped into the ring."

Even though the fight was still going strong, the short, bald warrior could do nothing to hold back his river of pessimism.

"Ah, cheer up Krillin," Gohan chirped, grinning across at his friend. "Even though Trunks has an advantage in speed and power, there's still a chance for Tien to win. All he has to do is knock him into the ocean."

Krillin snorted, glancing at the youngster who looked to be the most cheerful person in the world, "Heh. That's easier said than done, Gohan." The two of them then looked up when an explosion lit up the entire sky and, after watching it fade, spotted Tien emerge from the cloud trailing smoke.

A split second later, the entire audience including Gohan and Krillin winced in unison when the transformed Trunks flickered into view directly behind the triclops and backhanded him into the ocean below. The man rocketed into the water like a bullet, creating a splash large enough that it soaked all of the people sitting in the nearby stands and boats. When the waves finally subsided, a loud cheer went up and the referee announced the victor.

"_**After an awesome display of gravity defying speed and strength, Trunks emerges as the winner!"**_

"Oh well. He gave it his best shot," Krillin murmured, before throwing Gohan a lopsided smile, "Looks like it's time I gave mine. I'll see you in the infirmary, buddy. Provided I even make it there in one piece…" He then patted the boy on the shoulder and walked past him, leaving the spiky haired hybrid puzzled.

After Trunks helped Tien out of the water, the pair quickly cleared the stage for the next two contestants who were set to battle. The audience clamored excitedly when they saw Piccolo march out onto the stage followed closely by Krillin. While the former appeared completely calm, folding his arms over his chest with his eyes shut in meditation, his shorter opponent looked absolutely terrified. Most of the people reasoned that it was because of the atmosphere of the tournament and decided to cheer the poor guy on, hoping for another spectacular battle.

"_**The third match is about to begin as Piccolo and Krillin square off inside the ring!"**_

Under the applause and cheers of the spectators, the smaller fighter gulped nervously. _"Okay. You can do this. He's not unbeatable."_ Krrilin's expression then became one of deadpan, _"Well, unless he uses his Special Beam Cannon… then I'm dead."_ Yet he'd completely forgotten the fact that killing was strictly prohibited in this competition.

This was solid proof that once again the power of fear far outweighed the power of rational thought.

Taking a stance, Krillin slapped his game face on. _"I may not win, but I'm going out in style."_ He then trained his gaze on that of his opponent's, only to realize moments later that the man had his side turned to him and his eyes closed. The sight of the Namekian standing there without the slightest care for his presence at all had the monk recoil. "I don't believe it! He's not even going to look at me?!" And with that, the poor monk snapped and his frustrations took hold of him. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT! I'M NOBODY'S FOOL!"

The sound of the starting horn blared. Once it did, Krillin dropped into a running start and, with the loudest battle cry he could muster, blasted forward at incredible speed. In a split second he was right on top of the Namekian warrior and was just about to land his first blow.

Unfortunately in his haste, Krillin lost complete track of where he was going and ended up running headlong into the man's cape like a raging bull. Popping out the other side, the monk let out a hilarious cry when he unexpectedly plummeted over the side of the ring. Quickly recovering from his descent, the short fighter started flapping his arms like a bird to regain some altitude, saving himself from a premature fall into the ocean. The moment he returned to his platform's level though, Krillin suddenly felt himself grabbed from behind by his collar and forcibly turned around.

Looking up, he saw Piccolo glaring at him. "I thought I came for a tournament, not a circus performance. This is just a waste of my time." Without another word, the man tossed Krillin back onto the ring and onto the ground. Then, the second the short man sat up, the Namekian turned heel, leapt over the side, and blasted off.

As soon as the Namekian disappeared over the horizon, the referee spoke up over the silent crowd. _**"Piccolo has forfeited the match! Krillin wins by default!"  
**_

Applause and cheers raining down on him moments later, the bewildered monk blinked a couple of times before grinning. "Oh. That was surprisingly easy."

Standing on the sidelines, a disappointed Gohan breathed out a sigh. "Aww man. I was hoping he would stick around for a little bit longer. Oh well."

"_**And now for the final match, Doskoi against Sky Dragon!"**_

OOO

(Sometime later)

With the end of the quarter finals, which saw the challenger Doskoi tossing his opponent over one of the upper platforms and literally out of the competition, the four remaining contestants were then escorted into the waiting room while the audience was told to remain as they were. Though this announcement initially confused the spectators waiting eagerly in their seats, every single person on the island soon found out why they were told to hold fast as then, all of a sudden, the entire landmass began to move.

As it turns out, the island that the spectators and all of the other fighters were on wasn't actually fixed to the ground at all. The entire mass of earth and steel was in fact an enormous vessel that, after being unlatched from the seabed, set a course for the competition's final destination. Even though the preliminaries had been held on this island, the semi-finals and final match was actually set to be held on a second landmass dubbed _Battle Island II_; an actual atoll with two enormous mountains making up its topography, both dormant volcanoes, with the main stadium sitting in the heart of the larger of the two edifices.

Those that'd partaken in the festivities on the first island would be able to witness the final battles on the second. It wasn't a long trip to get to the place either; a quick sail out of the inlet and across the channel and the entire entourage of over eighty thousand spectators were there in just over forty minutes. The passengers were quick to disembark from the mobile landmass as soon as it docked with its significantly larger counterpart, where everyone was then driven via a fleet of buses to the dome serving as the final stadium.

The excitement hanging in the air was almost palpable.

For most anyway. As it turns out, X.S Cash's attendant had actually caught Mr. Satan trying to jump ship prematurely and ended up having to escort the man personally onto the second island, where he quickly adjourned to the nearest bathroom. The Champ had apparently come down with some sort of a chronic stomach ache, an illness that the staff reasoned the man had contracted due to a severe case of motion sickness.

Anyway, once all of the spectators had been filed into the stadium, the staff was then able to take the four winners of the quarter finals to their next room. Bringing them into the levels beneath the stadium itself, the group was sorted into a separate chamber where they were able to mingle and rest up before they were called to the elevators that would take them up to the final ring.

Each settled down to their own devices. While the imposing sumo wrestler Doskoi adopted an Indian style position in the corner of the room, Trunks had taken to leaning against a wall with his arms folded, Krillin a spot on the couch, and Gohan, energetic as always, had decided to stay on his feet and wander about the waiting room, taking in the various paintings and other embellishments hanging around the place. The smile he wore throughout his entire lap of the room told everyone that he was the most relaxed there, a sight that put a smile on Trunks's face.

"Excited?" the lavender Saiyan asked.

"You bet. I've never actually participated in a tournament like this before and I actually made it into the semi-finals on my first go," the younger hybrid chirped while looking across at his friend.

"Same here. The _World Martial Arts Tournament_ in my time was shut down due to the havoc the androids were creating across the planet and since we were so busy fighting them, nobody had time for these kinds of activities," Trunks replied, his smile brightening somewhat as he looked down at the ground. "But now that their nightmare is over, we're able to go back to the way things were."

"I hope you guys are able to pull through it," Gohan spoke, beaming brightly with his hands behind his back. "You're the earth's protector now in your time… so that means everybody will be looking to you for support. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Yeah," Mirai responded, nodding towards his mentor from the past with a heartfelt gleam in his eyes, "Thanks, Gohan."

"Ah, you shouldn't worry about it too much," Krillin said from the couch, soda in hand and a smile on his face. "Now that #17 and #18 are gone in your time, you and the rest of the planet can rest easy, knowing that the greatest threats have been wiped clean from the board. I mean, after all the stuff you and Bulma had to go through, I can imagine you guys are exhausted."

"Mm," Trunks nodded in agreement.

While the two had their heart to heart across the way, Gohan decided to pace around a little more. When he went to check out the bonsai trees growing along the table in the back, he sensed a pair of eyes watching him and glanced around to see Doskoi staring at him.

The youngster, blinking at the man's serious contours, beamed. "Hi there."

Appearing stoic at first, the big man soon broke out a smile, "Hello. You were the little one that sent Udo on a free trip across the pond, yeah?"

Gohan giggled and scratched his cheek, "Guilty."

"Impressive. You may not look it, but you're an incredibly powerful fighter," Doskoi replied while at the same time tilting his head towards the young man. "I'd fought Udo a few times before in previous tournaments. Even I found it difficult to toss a man of that size." He then gave the youngster a curious glance, "What's your secret?"

Giving it a moment of thought, the spiky haired hybrid chuckled, "The trick is to take their weight, pull them forward, and reverse their momentum. That way you'll not only throw them off balance, you'll also be able to use their strength against them."

Doskoi laughed heartily, which sounded more like a rumble that could be felt rather than heard, "You're a very technical fighter I see… just as I expected of someone of your character. To each their own, I suppose" Seeing the boy smile at his comment, the man then nodded towards him respectfully and spoke. "I hope that we get to meet each other in the final round to see who'll get to take down that Mr. Satan fellow." The wrestler frowned a bit and closed his eyes, "Between you and me, I do not believe that a man like that could have taken down somebody as terrifying as Cell. I saw what that monster did on the news. No way could someone of that caliber have fallen so easily to someone of Hercule Satan's skill set."

His remark actually had the three Z-fighters present smile, especially Krillin.

"_At least there are some people out there with a little bit of common sense about them,"_ Trunks thought, sharing an acknowledging nod with his companions. "We think so too, friend."

"Mr. Satan may know how to please a crowd, but defeating someone who can crush mountains with their bare hands… no way," Krillin added.

"Yeah. It takes a different kind of stuff to take on somebody like that," Gohan led on, earning a wide smile from the large sumo practitioner.

"Stuff that you three possess, I assume," the man responded, earning surprised blinks from Krillin and Gohan. Grinning slightly, the hulking figure winked, "I've seen how you three do battle. As someone who's been practicing martial arts for years now, I think I know when I've been outgunned. But that doesn't mean I won't give it my best shot."

Initially surprised, the three Z-fighters then smiled and gave their respects to the big wrestler. As one-dimensional as he initially came across, this man was actually one sharp customer. Of course, not wanting to rain on the man's parade, they simply returned his friendly exclamations with gestures of acknowledgement and thanks.

"I wonder what Chi-Chi and Bulma are doing right now," Krillin wondered out loud, turning to Trunks with an inquisitive expression. "You guys did mention that those two came along the watch the tournament."

"Maybe they're still arguing over who out of the three of us is going to win this thing," Mirai suggested with a shrug.

This reply had the short monk cackle sarcastically, "Oh please. No need to beat around the bush on this one, pal. What you really meant to say was who out of the two of _us _is going to win this thing. If you haven't forgotten, you and Gohan are products of a pair of terrifying space monsters and I'm just a poor little sack of flesh human with no hair."

While Trunks rolled his eyes, Gohan smiled and looked up as well, "Everyone should be getting comfortable right about now. I'm just wondering how Videl's doing. Maybe she's up there in the stadium waiting for us."

This little exclamation took Krillin out of the conversation a bit and had the man look in the youngster's direction, "Videl? Who's that?"

"Oh. This girl I met up in the food court. She's really nice and really tough… _and_ she's learning how to fight using different kinds of martial arts. I think she's pretty cool. Maybe you guys can meet her afterwards." The moment he finished his little exclamation, Gohan then saw Krillin and Trunks look across at one another. After that, he then saw the monk grin slyly at him, while the man with the lavender hair threw the demi-Saiyan a very Vegeta like look of curiosity. Gohan actually felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the pair's eyes flicker with mischief. "Uhh… why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"_Oh, this is going to be fun,"_ Krillin sung in his head while a wide grin pulled across his lips.

Poor innocent Gohan. He had no idea what kind of teasing was going to be coming his way.

OOO

(Half an hour later)

"_**Thank you for your patience ladies and gentlemen! We hope you've all had plenty of time to rest, because now it's time to begin the semi-finals!"**_ the announcer hollered out over the mike, earning a loud cheer from all those present.

Inside the massive dome, all of the spectators had been arranged into a very large, yet very basic stadium setup. The steel structure inside the mountain wrapped around an enormous coliseum that circled an arena center that, unlike conventional rings, contained an enormous pyramid in the middle. At the very apex of the construct, leading off from each of the four corners, there sat four jet car tracks with four pods stationed at the beginning of each slide. These slides led into four completely different directions through tunnels that disappeared into the walls.

With spotlights focused completely on the center stage and enormous monitors set up throughout the entirety of the dome, the audience was guaranteed full and complete coverage of the next round of matches to come. The entire building was literally quivering with excitement.

Videl, who'd found a spot somewhere closest to the top of the coliseum, was rocking back and forth excitedly on her heels while she leaned against the railings. Having made her way up here after leaving the first battle island, the girl was obviously looking forward to the next series of events. After all, Gohan had made it into the finals, and if her instincts knew any better she was bound to see one hell of a show.

"_I know you're going to do awesome, Gohan. If you were able to wipe the floor with that last guy, then I have no doubt you're going to kick butt in this one,"_ the girl cheered inwardly, beaming brightly as she looked intently towards the center pyramid. _"Show me what you can do!"_

When the stage lit up, the crowds cheered as one after the other, hatches opened up beside each of the four rocket pods. As soon as they did, four figures were then elevated onto the stage under a chorus of shouts and applause. The sound the plus fifty thousand people made was almost deafening, but neither one of the four warriors were shaken up in the slightest.

That is… until a couple members in the audience decided to be more vocal than the people around them.

"GOHAN, I LOVE YOU SWEETIE!" the cry of Chi-Chi echoed throughout the chamber.

The shout out had Gohan look down and blush. "Mum… not so loud," he mumbled.

Seeing the boy's abashed face on the big screen after hearing the woman's yell drew a giggle from Videl.

"You own this, Trunks! Get em' and then we can go on vacation!" the call of Bulma followed shortly afterwards.

Mirai had the common sense to blush just as much as his fellow Saiyan did. _"Tactful as always, mother."_

"Krillin! Don't get yourself killed," the yell of Oolong echoed in from another part of the stadium, earning a deep scowl from the bald fighter.

"_Oh, I'll survive. Then it's bacon time."_

As soon as all four contestants had appeared, the spotlights overhead faded, and the mediator's voice one again rang true throughout the dome. _**"New island, new rules! We've got four tunnels running underground! They lead to specialized battle zones in each direction. Now that the qualifiers have been assigned a tunnel, they will each be transported to their decided battle zone via the rocket pods you see positioned beside them. There they will face our special guests; FIGHTERS FROM ACROSS THE GALAXIES!"**_

Overhead the television screens showed to the audience close up images of the tunnels and tracks, before then flipping over to a feed of the four 'space aliens' descending a set of escalators in the marketing stage of the main event. Once everyone had been informed of the opening proceedings, the speaker continued to read out the rules to the four fighters waiting patiently on the pyramid.

"_**Now pay attention, because here's where things get really spicy! Once a fight ends, the challenge isn't over. The victor must then find and take a special lift, and be the first to return to the center stage here inside this coliseum. The winner will then proceed to the final round against Mr. Satan!"**_ The end of this statement drew an earsplitting cry and cheer from the collective audience.

Just like the other Z-fighters, Krillin sprouted a grin and clambered into his rocket pod, "Perfect! A race! That means I'll have the advantage." Snickering as he strapped himself in and pulled down the brace bar, the man then watched as the cockpit closed and the sound of the audience became muffled by the dividing glass. "After all, I _do_ have the least wind resistance."

As soon as all the rules had been explained, the three other fighters leapt into their pods and buckled up. With Doskoi lagging behind due to being hampered by his immense size, soon each and every one of the competitors was strapped in and ready for action. Once the staff was certain that the fighters were locked down good and tight, they gave a thumbs-up to the chief commentator, who then shouted into the microphone once more.

"_**Let's begin the count down!"**_

A massive screen switched to a clock, which started to tick. With every second that flipped by, the audience started to chant in unison.

"_**Ten!"**_

"_**Nine!"**_

"_**Eight!"**_

"_Okay. Here we go!"_ Trunks thought, grinning as he took hold of the handle bars.

"_**Seven!"**_

"_**Six!"**_

"_**Five!"**_

"Let's do this!" Krillin shouted in his pod, licking his lips and tasting the sweetness of impending victory.

"_**Four!"**_

"_**Three!"**_

"_**Two!"**_

"_**One!"**_

"_Lift off!"_ Gohan smirked.

With a blast of fire and a sonic boom, the four shuttles took off down their tracks at breakneck speeds. Trailing smoke as they shot down their respective slides, the carts and their passengers vanished down the tunnels one after the other. Once they were gone, the reporters down on ground level, who were covering their part of the battle, waved away the fumes and turned to their cameramen to continue with their broadcasts.

"_**And they're off!"**_

The whole event was shooing to be an incredible hit and the audience was holding out for every second of it.

What the Z-fighters didn't know however, as they rocketed down their respective tunnels towards their assigned arenas, was that their greatest battle was just about to begin.

(TO BE CONTINUED)


	3. What We Fight For

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_What We Fight For_

"Come on, baby! Move faster!" Krillin shouted as his pod carried him through one of the weirdest acid trips of all time. "Go! Go! Go!"

The instant the four rocket shuttles entered the tunnels and began snaking their way through them at high speed, the four contenders from the preliminaries were immediately thrown into a massive hallway of simulators and monitors. The projectors all around them bombarded the unsuspecting fighters with animations and CGI of all shapes and sizes. At first the competitors found themselves in a world reminiscent of the movie Tron, where a giant whale came out of an ocean of code and seemingly knocked Krillin's pod for a loop. But all of that changed seconds later when all four shuttles split up and blasted off towards different areas of the island.

Gohan's pod took a trip through a recreation of the solar system, moments before it went crashing through a series of digital barriers one after the other before ejecting him into a world of purple clouds and giant toys. The half-Saiyan laughed in delight as his car spiraled through the air, before crashing headlong into an enormous plush teddy bear with a missing eye. The impact slowed him right down, eventually spitting him back out and depositing the youngster on top of a collection of enormous balloons.

Doskoi's pod took him through a collection of nauseating twists and turns like a drill bit, his surroundings bursting all around him like fireworks. After passing through the computer simulation, his pod then leapt out of the cave and went skipping across a row of sand dunes like a stone. Moments later, his pod came to a screeching halt on a steep incline, dropping him off at the base of an enormous hill. Hearing the distinct sound of sand particles pelting against his window, the man shook his head of the insane rollercoaster ride before deciding to get himself out of his cramped seating arrangement.

Trunks's trip down the rabbit hole was a little bit tamer than the others. Flying through a kaleidoscope of brilliant patterns and colors, the lavender haired hybrid was able to enjoy the splendor of his animated universe, minutes before his pod shot out an enormous lake and over an immaculate field of forests and flowers. The young man was given an awesome ten second view of the sparkling scenery before his pod skidded across the water's surface and came to a gentle stop in the shallows.

Krillin's landing however was not so gentle. After his pod was flung out of the tunnel, it went bouncing from wall to wall like a ball in a pinball machine. When it struck a ledge, it crashed into a river of lava and started to sink. Once the craft was almost completely submerged, Krillin busted out of it with a cry of terror and his head on fire. Leaping onto the sweltering soil of the volcanic field he'd ended up in, the man hurriedly patted out his head and breathed a sigh of relief once his scalp had been extinguished.

"Woo… that was a close one…" the short fighter said.

XXX

Upon exiting his car, Trunks quickly leapt onto dry land and casually wandered over to a nearby stream. His legs pushing their way through the long grass, the man peered over the side to see a couple of fish swim through the gently flowing creek, followed closely by a dragonfly that landed on an overhanging reed.

Narrowing his eyes, the man looked up and took in his surroundings.

"Okay… battle zone, huh? Are we supposed to fight or have a picnic?" Trunks panned across the majestic landscape, taking note of the fields of flowers stretching out before him and the enormous spire he could see in the distance. It was there the adult demi-Saiyan figured he had to go next, but first had to traverse this place, locate his opponent for that stage of the competition and battle him in order to proceed. "Geez. What an odd tournament."

The flora was a nice touch, even though it was completely and utterly pointless.

XXX

Bounding through the hellish environment that was his battle zone, Krillin leapt around the many pillars and cliffs laid out in his path. Eventually finding a clearing with pools of lava bubbling away around him, the man then came to a sudden halt when he saw the silhouette of a figure appear behind a cloud of smoke. The sight and the emergence of the figure's presence had the short fighter brace himself and instinctively widen his stance.

"You must be my opponent!" Receiving no response at first, the monk smiled and, setting a casual pace, began to stroll forward. "My name is Krillin. Perhaps you've heard of me. I'm a great fighter-slash-hero from earth." Ah yes. Introductions. It'd been a while since he'd done one of these. As he ambled closer, the wall of fumes began to clear, and his would-be adversary started to emerge from the thick haze. "You'd do well to stay on your guard as I've already conquered the mighty Piccolo today. You might even say that I'm… on a… winning… strea-" The man then suddenly tapered off.

The moment he drew close enough to see his opponent, Krillin felt all the blood rush up to his face as well as to another part of his body. There, standing on top of a ledge, he saw a beautiful, blue-skinned young woman with a curvaceous figure, long, curly orange hair that fanned out around her and grew down her back, blue eyes, and pointy ears. She was also wearing a strange uniform consisting of a white vest, baggy pants with gold buckles, a gold pointy necklace, earrings, a blue, halter-style undershirt, black pull-on sleeves, a purple sash, and yellow and black boots.

While her outlandish and almost mercenary like appearance came as a big surprise to Krillin, there was another aspect about her that instantly had the Z-fighter's attention.

"You're a girl?! Space chicks are hot!" Okay, not the most eloquent thing to come out of his mouth, but certainly the most logical.

Had she been somebody else, a guy for example, the short fighter wouldn't have paid her that much mind. However, the fact that she was breathtakingly gorgeous and was throwing him a disarmingly beautiful smile, there was no way the poor man could ignore her.

Gulping when he saw her brush some hair out of her face, Krillin continued. "Now… don't tempt me with your beauty. I have a tournament to win!"

Giving a cute giggle, the girl closed her eyes, brought her hands out widely and crossed them over her face. The moment she did so, the Z-fighter suddenly sensed her ki skyrocket and her hair stand on end, like it was being propelled by a wind that just wasn't there. Then, without warning…

Krillin was seemingly struck down by an assault from all sides. A kick to the side of his head knocked the martial artist askew, followed immediately by a left cross that cocked his head around and a knee to the abdomen that lifted him several feet off the ground. Then, flicking her hair back playfully, the blue-skinned woman elbowed the fighter into the ground and kicked him across the clearing into a nearby mountain of rock.

The resulting impact nearly buried Krillin under a pile of stone and as soon as his body hit the floor, his attacker landed as well. Smiling victoriously, the woman powered down and her hair dropped to its previous position draped behind her back.

Attempting to pick himself up, the thoroughly beaten and bruised Krillin forced a smile, "I… think she likes me." Moments later, he fainted, his face planting the ash covered floor with a dull thud.

XXX

Up in the stadium, the crowd of spectators was literally shocked into silence by the swift and sudden defeat the first alien had been able to deal her opponent.

Panning around, the roaming, automated camera was able to capture the entire scuffle, and was now hovering over Krillin's battered body while his foe stopped beside him. The result had Chi-Chi and Bulma stare in shock and bewilderment, but neither one of them could match the surprise reflected on Oolong and Master Roshi's faces.

"K-Krillin," the pig murmured, he, Chiaotzu, Puar and the turtle hermit watching quietly while the words 'Eliminated' appeared on Krillin's screen, seconds before fading to black.

"What happened?" was the first question to escape Chiaotzu's lips.

The whole fight had happened so fast. He swore he'd missed something.

XXX

Now making his way towards the enormous tower he could see sitting on the horizon across the desert, Doskoi was making cracking progress. In spite of the scorching heat bathing his immense girth and wafting off of the sand underneath his feet, the man remained perfectly unfazed by the close to unbearable conditions enveloping him. Being a martial artist and a warrior in his own right, the wrestler knew he had to remain calm and collected, even in the face of great adversity.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop the sweat from squeezing out of the pores all over his body as he ambled across the sand dunes, the heat reaching him physically even if his mind didn't register to his surroundings. The man soldiered on, regardless of the invisible obstacle.

Leaving deep footprints in his wake, the man started making his way down another steep slope. However, just as Doskoi was about to reach another incline, the big man failed to notice a sinkhole open up behind him and a hand stick up out of the ground. It was only when he felt a presence appear behind him did he actually respond and spun around.

"Who goes there?!"

The second he did so, the sumo wrestler felt a hand clamp over his throat and his body get lifted off of the ground. Gasping in horror, Doskoi began kicking and thrashing about wildly to try and shake himself out of the vice now crushing down on his windpipe. Exclamations of shock muffled by a lack of air, the poor human male continued to beat at the arm holding him several feet off the floor until, after a full minute of fruitless struggling, Doskoi breathed his last.

Body going limp, the sumo wrestler was then unceremoniously dropped to the ground and the assailant responsible for his swift demise turned towards the camera hovering behind him.

XXX

The audience gasped in horror when they saw the alien contender turn to face them. As soon as he did, instead of seeing the friendly, painted face of one of the intergalactic competitors they were promised, the spectators got the shock of their lives when they saw a blue skinned monster of a man with pointy ears, an orange Mohawk, beard, a purple vest, golden earrings and a wicked grin glare towards the lens.

People left and right immediately rose out of their seats in fear and, when the camera panned down to the lifeless Doskoi at his feet, the crowd started to scream.

"Murderer!"

"He killed one of the competitors!"

"Doskoi's dead!"

"What the hell is this?!"

Questions flew in from all sides uncontested and with the appearance of the two new alien competitors to the event hanging in the air people immediately began to realize that something terrible has happened. Chi-Chi and Bulma recognized the danger, as did Baby Trunks, who started to whimper in his mother's arms while she held him close to her cest.

The woman tasked with protecting him made certain to cover her son's eyes so that he didn't see the 'thing' that was now leering at the camera.

Videl on the other hand, who was observing the monitor intently, narrowed her once startled gaze into a glare as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face.

"_W-Who the hell is that?"_ the girl asked herself, jaw clenching as she looked upon the face of a man who was definitely _not_ one of her father's students in costume. _"What the heck's going on here?"_ Her thoughts were soon drowned out by the cries and exclamations of the thousands of people in the coliseum.

The commotion became so bad in fact that the screams managed to filter out of the dome and enter the courtyards sitting outside the structure, which quickly drew the attention of Tien and Yamcha who, only moments ago, had been enjoying a couple of drinks following their decisive defeats in the opening stages of the tournament

Heads perking up, their eyes quickly trained towards the stadium.

"What was that?" a baffled Yamcha asked.

XXX

Wandering through the checkered landscape of giant toys and oversized bedroom antiquities, Gohan gleefully admired the off-colored weirdness and oddity of his surroundings. While it certainly wasn't the most extravagant of settings he could have landed in for sure, it certainly was the most interesting.

Hopping over a large pile of plush animals and building blocks, the young Saiyan then had his gaze drawn skywards when he spotted a couple of balloons floating down towards him.

Feeling curious, Gohan reached up and poked one. The thin sheen making up the inflated ball of air popped the moment his finger made contact, drawing a playful laugh from the young hybrid. "Cool."

His joy was short-lived however.

Spotting a shadow underneath him, the demi-Saiyan's eyes widened in alarm before his gaze shot upwards. The moment he looked, the young fighter had but a split second to leap out of the way before an enormous alphabet block came crashing into the ground where he'd been standing, splitting the floor with its impact.

"Gah! What the?"

Yelping in surprise, the raven haired boy began back flipping across his playground wilderness as more and more enormous toys came cascading down around him. Every impact was marked by an earthshaking tremor and a cloud of smoke, a process that continued on for several seconds until the young warrior landed atop a windup robot directly in front of an enormous, analogue clock with golden rims.

Taking a defensive stance, Gohan then spotted the cause for the sudden rain of toys. Eyes narrowing seriously, the demi-Saiyan spotted a strangely dressed, little blue man wearing golden jewelry, white slacks, a red jacket with golden buckles, and a purple turban, float down from the ceiling above to leer at him.

The person suspending themselves upside-down in front of the young warrior puzzled Gohan at first. But then, just as they were facing each other down, the gold pieces on the person's uniform suddenly started to glow a hot yellow and, upon throwing his hands forward, the alien began producing an orange demonic aura from his body.

Sensing something foul, the demi-Saiyan then jumped when he heard the hands of the clock behind him spin wildly before flying off of their host like rockets, prompting the boy to take evasive action. Jumping back a few hundred feet, Gohan assumed a horse riding stance atop a large drum and, with a yell of effort, fired up his ki. His blue aura exploded around him just in time to form a barrier, which blocked the two giant clock hands attempting to skewer him from both sides. His energy shield filed them down to nothing before he dropped it moments later.

Hearing his opponent give an impish giggle, the raven haired Saiyan held a hand out to him in alarm. "Hey! What are you trying to do? Kill me?" the young hybrid asked.

The blue skinned man snickered once again and held out his hands, "You catch on really quick, speck." With a quiet yell, red energy and electricity began zapping off of his body, the bolts chopping away at their surroundings in a storm.

Recoiling in surprise, Gohan then watched on as the cheerful toy wonderland surrounding him melted away, revealing a densely forested area with gigantic mushrooms growing all around him. As soon as the landscape's transformation was complete, the half-Saiyan quickly realized he must've been trapped inside of an illusion and quickly threw his game face on.

Gohan fixed his best glare upon the man still suspended upside-down in front of him.

"Alright. You've got my attention." The young half-Saiyan then assumed a fighting stance. "Who are you?"

The little alien snickered, "I am Bujin. And now… you're going to die!" A split second later, a current of lightning shot out of his forehead and flew towards his opponent, who managed to avoid it by leaping into the air.

The explosion that followed almost took out the entire mountain behind him.

XXX

As the crowds in the stadium started to flee, terrified at the sight of the aliens now popping up all over the monitors, X.S Cash and his family remained held up in their skybox. Watching the chaos unfolding down below, the billionaire magnate clenched his fists and shook his head, completely baffled by what he was witnessing.

"This is getting out of hand," his wife spoke up from behind, squatting down to comfort their frightened son.

"What a fiasco!" Mr. Cash shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he rounded on his assistant. "I want an explanation for this immediately!"

The man with the slicked back hair and suit pointed at the television screen in front of him, "These are not the fighters that were scheduled!" He then turned to his boss anxiously. "I've never seen these creatures in my life! They're supposed to be friendly extraterrestrials. Hercule's boys dressed up in costumes! I wouldn't book something like this. These things are the real deal!"

"Gah! We have to do something to bring this back under control!" With the defeat of one of the finalists and the death of another, the wealthiest man in the world quickly realized that there was only one man capable of stopping these monsters and rounded on the guards he had stationed at the door. "Where is Mr. Satan?! We need the Champ out here, on the double!"

As the men up in the penthouse began scurrying about like headless chickens, down in the sea of horrified spectators, Yamcha and Tien nudged their way through the masses and into the crowded arena. Stopping for a moment to look up at the monitors, where they spotted the fallen Doskoi and saw Gohan engaging a third alien across his battle zone, the two men quickly leapt up onto the pyramid and into the two new pods that'd been stationed there.

Once the cockpits were closed, the two warriors shot off at high speed down the tracks and disappeared into the tunnels.

XXX

Strolling through the field of wild flowers, aware of the roving camera following close behind and watching his every action, Trunks continued his slow trek across the battle zone until a series of chipmunk-like squeaks drew him to a stop. Crouching down in the long grass to investigate the sound, the young man smiled at the small, pink creature that appeared from the vegetation to greet him. Fluffy, cute, with a pair of antenna sticking up out of its head, it was an animal the time traveling warrior had never seen before.

The critter came up to sniff him. But just as Trunks was reaching out to give it a pet, it darted out of sight. At the exact same time, the demi-Saiyan's senses picked up something dangerous and fast moving, a sensation that drew the man's attention over his shoulder.

A red light appearing behind him, the lavender haired Saiyan leapt out of the way in time to avoid a ball of fiery red energy, which punched an enormous crater in the spot he'd been kneeling. Landing out of range, Trunks dropped into a stance and fixed his gaze in the direction the attack had come from.

Spotting a distant oak, the demi-Saiyan quickly made out a large, blue-skinned man with pointy ears, orange spiky hair, and wearing a purple headband, yellow boots, black jacket and jewelry lying contentedly across a branch with his hand pointed towards him. He was also armed with a large sword, a sight that set off several alarm bells in Trunks's head.

Upon looking the swashbuckling newcomer over, the half-Saiyan snarled and decided to give his attacker a piece of his mind.

"Watch where you point that thing, I might get the wrong idea! We may be fighting but this is still a tournament! No killing allowed!" the time-traveler snapped.

Scoffing, the blue-skinned assailant suddenly sprang out of the tree and, in a blur of motion, appeared directly above Trunks. With a roar, the attacker threw a right cross straight down at the demi-Saiyan, only to see the boy slip around it and counter with an immediate three-quarter uppercut from behind. However, the second the lavender haired fighter let his attack fly, he suddenly had his arm caught by his strangely dressed target who, after trapping the stunned Trunks, picked him up and shoulder-tossed him across the field.

Managing to course correct, Trunks landed on both his feet and slid across the ground to a stop. He then looked up in shock, "Whoa! What the hell are you?!"

Charging at his target, the blue warrior threw a flying spin kick that Trunks ducked and responded with a right back kick, which his opponent quickly checked. In a flash, the half-Saiyan then leapt at the man with a roundhouse kick, only for the swordsman to slip under it and switch places, before the hybrid came back at him with a yell and a jumping knee to the face. In a flash, the orange-haired fighter managed to block the knee with a quick draw of his sword, a blow that impacted against the shaft of metal with a resounding clang.

When both fighters glared at one another, the grinning outsider chuckled, "Someone not to be trifled with, boy!" He then threw Trunks off of him and, unsheathing his weapon completely and bringing it up with both hands, sliced across at his target with a decapitating strike.

Dodging at the last second so that only a couple strands of his hair were shaved off, the demi-Saiyan backed pedaled. He then leapt into the air to avoid another slash from his opponent, before landing and dashing off in another direction in time to dodge a third thrust. Once the brief exchange was over, both warriors then began sprinting alongside one another across the field of flowers, a trek which eventually led them into the shallows of the lake.

Cackling, the orange haired alien sprinted ahead and cut his opponent off, leading to the two of them squaring off knee deep in water.

Trunks, taking a defensive position, took a moment to analyze the sword his opponent was wielding. While its design was elegant and its size was definitely impressive; the weapon, for all its gold plating and decorations, didn't have a cutting edge. In fact, the sword functioned more like an epee than a saber, which explained why he didn't slice his leg open when he rammed his knee into it.

Upon sizing one another up, the alien pirate gave the young man a smirk and slid his weapon back into its scabbard. Once his weapon was sheathed, the man tensed, balled his fists, and began focusing his energy, which took the form of all the gold pieces of jewelry on him lighting up like torches. Gritting his teeth, the alien began what Trunks suspected was a very painful transformation as all of the muscles on his body began to inflate and the ki around him began to generate ripples across the water. A few moments of intense concentration later, the warrior then threw his arms up and gave a howl, a blast of energy producing a funnel of water that twisted around him.

When the vortex settled back into the lake seconds later, the alien reappeared, only… he wasn't blue anymore. That much was obvious on first glance.

Not only had the guy's entire frame bulked up, but the transformation had also turned his hair blood red, shredded his black jacket, leaving a red sash across his chest, and caused his ki to jump several levels. The sight of the now hulking swashbuckler had Trunks recoil in shock.

"_Who the heck is this guy?"_

The now significantly larger alien grinned, "Introductions. I am Gokuha. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The time traveling warrior frowned back at him defiantly, "Trunks. And that's all you're getting out of me, pal!"

OOO

(Otherworld)

For the spectators in the other dimension, things had gone off to a great start for them. Sitting cinema style on the chairs positioned in front of the television in a semi-circle, King Kai, Goku, Bubbles and Gregory were able to watch all of the preliminaries comfortably without a single break in the schedule. With drinks and food in hand, the four of them were practically hanging off of the edges of their seats with every moment that past, almost like they were watching a football game, making bets on who would beat who and rooting for their team, which just so happened to be the Z-Fighters.

Things really picked up after the opening rounds when it moved into the quarter finals, where Gohan, Trunks, Krillin, Tien and Piccolo were able to put on a fantastic show. Not so much Krillin and Piccolo, but Tien's battle with Trunks was certainly enjoyable to watch. The man really held his own against the time traveling half-Saiyan and showed that with enough training and dedication, even somebody like him could trade blows with a Super Saiyan. Goku was proud, and even gave a cheer when he saw his son kick his opponent two kilometers out of the ring.

Everything was going splendidly for their side. However, when the competition moved over to _Battle Island II_ and the competitors were sent into their separate fields, that's when things suddenly took a turn for the worst.

While Goku and King Kai were baffled by Krillin's defeat at the hands of his alien opponent, they became completely stumped when they not only saw another one of the aliens strangle his opponent to death, but then two others that, after introducing themselves to their opposites, began exchanging blows evenly with the two most powerful fighters in the tournament and the world.

Looking at the television screen, the four observers could see just how hard both Gohan and Trunks were being pushed by their foes, which had every single one of them sweating bullets.

"H-Hey. What's going on down there?" the Saiyan father asked while shaking his head in bewilderment. "Those guys are super strong. Who the heck are they?"

Immediately sensing danger, King Kai swiftly leapt out of his chair and rushed over to the side of the mountain's cliff. Stopping at the side, he reached out with his antenna and honed in on earth's signature where, after several seconds of searching, he looked up in horror.

"Oh no!"

OOO

(The Central Battle Zone)

A series of explosions racked the buildings of the city outskirts making up the exterior section of the final battle zone. Smoke and debris flying up into the air and following a straight line, like a flameless napalm strike had just been mounted against the town, the hotel at the edge of the river suddenly collapsed in on itself when Gokuha came blasting out of its walls with Trunks's head in his grip.

Rocketing up into the air, the green-skinned alien let out a cry of war as he then took the hapless demi-Saiyan and dove towards a nearby bridge, plowing his opponent's face straight into its road. Destroying the causeway, the pair then disappeared underneath the water in a series of depth-charge like splashes, which the alien continued to drag his opponent through for several seconds. Moments later, the lavender haired warrior managed to free himself from the titan's grip and shot out of the river, leaping across the rooftops of the city and beginning to dive back down to ground level feet first.

While in the middle of his descent however, the building in front of Trunks shuddered violently, before the hulking form of Gokuha came bursting out of its wall and clothes lined the unsuspecting Saiyan in the neck, sending him through several more buildings. When the lavender haired warrior exploded out the side of the fifth one, Gokuha seemingly teleported above him and kicked the man towards the ground, sending him bouncing along the main street. Trunks's form eventually rolled to a painful stop, leaving the man splayed out on his front and groaning in pain.

Landing several feet behind the boy, the smirking alien approached him, drawing his sword and pointing its tip at the Z-fighter's back.

"You're beaten. Surrender!" The man was confident at his victory.

Waiting for a response, Gokuha watched as his opponent started to push himself up, struggling to get onto his hands and knees. His smile fading, the alien then spat and, taking his sword up into a two-handed grip, gritted his teeth and roared, "FINE!" He then thrust straight down at the hapless fighter, aiming to impale him.

Sensing the attack, Trunks's eyes widened and he powered up, his golden aura exploding around him when he jumped to Super Saiyan almost instantaneously. The second he did so, he spun around and parried the incoming blade with his arm, locking the pair in a heated grappling match. Caught completely by surprise, Gokuha then began trying to force his weapon through his foe, while his opponent bit and held his ground with all the strength he could muster.

Their energy blasting off of them in waves, Trunks snarled, "Never underestimate a Super Saiyan, punk!" And with that, the blade pressing against his forearm shattered, sending the tip of it spiraling into a wall.

Stunned, Gokuha was just about to pull away when, in the blink of an eye, the golden haired warrior in front of him plowed his fist straight through his chest like a lance.

His fist exploding out the other end, Trunks held his position while his opponent spewed up blood and hunched over the smaller warrior's shoulder in shock. Body quivering for several moments with a few choking sounds escaping the swordsman's gaping mouth, the time traveling Saiyan then ripped his arm out of the warrior's chest and allowed him to tip over. The alien's body crashed to the ground with a dull thud, where he lay dead.

As Trunks stood there, catching his breath and looking down at his defeated opponent, wondering where in the world he'd come from, the demi-Saiyan then sensed a second presence appear. Gasping at the enormous flux of ki, the boy spun around, only to have his vision blinded by the blue tail end of a coat, before he was unceremoniously kicked in the face.

The force of the blow was so immense, it not only caused a shockwave that split the ground, it also knocked Trunks out in an instant, his body hitting the ground hard.

OOO

(Meanwhile – Capsule Corp)

Bolting upright from his bed, Vegeta gave a gasp of shock when he sensed something amiss in the air.

Having subconsciously been keeping an eye on the _Intergalactic Tournament_ taking place many miles away with his senses, the man was able to monitor the progress of all the competition's major players; namely the Z-fighters. Things had been going well to this point, until he felt his son's ki skyrocket and plummet in the span of a few seconds, before being completely overshadowed by an energy level that was not only enormous, but incredibly foul.

"T-Trunks?"

That was no ordinary energy level. That was something else.

Something dangerous.

Gritting his teeth, the man turned towards his son's sword, which he could see propped up against the wall.

"Something's wrong."

OOO

While dodging the rain of car-sized boulders being thrown at him by his unusually powerful foe, Gohan attempted to put some distance between him and his adversary. However, just as he was preparing to up the ante a little and give his enemy a taste of his real power, a flash of ki suddenly rushed through his head in the direction of another battle zone, stopping the demi-Saiyan for but a moment.

It was unreal. The energy level was so massive and so potent that it was impossible for the young warrior to miss.

Gasping, Gohan's eyes snapped over his shoulder, "Who's there?" Reaching out with his senses, he noticed seconds later that Trunks' energy level had dropped considerably, telling the boy that his friend had been taken out.

Clenching his fists, the fighter quickly glanced back at Bujin, whom he saw float down from above atop an enormous rock, surrounded by a malicious orange aura. The little alien giggled when he too picked up the issue plaguing his young opponent.

After several seconds of consideration of both his foe and the foreign ki signature over the horizon, Gohan made the critical decision to dispense of this fight and to go help his friends.

Levitating off of the ground, the spiky haired warrior then turned in midair and took off towards the other battle zones at full speed. Sensing his opponent flying after him, Gohan made sure to keep one eye on him and the other eye straight ahead, as he then began tracking down whatever the hell had taken out Trunks.

"_Don't worry guys! I'm coming!"_

OOO

(Otherworld)

"Earth is in grave danger!" King Kai spoke, glancing back at Goku to see that he, Bubbles and Gregory had also gotten to their feet. After the events they'd just witnessed, it was impossible for any of them to remain seated.

The spiky haired Saiyan stepped forward anxiously, "From what?"

"You mean _who_. Bojack," the blue-skinned overseer of the Northern Quadrant replied cryptically.

Gulping at the nervous glance the man gave him, Goku pressed on, "B-Bojack? Who's that?"

"A dark demon of the worst sort; psychotic, unstable… filled with malice and rage. Long ago, he tried to destroy every galaxy within the Dormideous Sector and attempted to conquer the core star systems between the four quadrants," King Kai informed, a bead of sweat running down the side of his head as he filled Goku in on what he didn't know about this new enemy. "He and his gang rampaged across the galaxy, wrecking everything in their path."

"Sounds like King Piccolo," Goku remarked, thinking back to his encounter with the evil Namekian all those years ago.

King Kai nodded, "Yes, but far more powerful… even stronger than Cell when you first fought him." The trainer then looked gravely over the horizon of Snake Way and watched as the sky seemingly darkened as he slowly recounted his story. "He has an insatiable appetite for genocide, even going so far as to wipe out the entire population of his home planet. Now, just like the Saiyans, he and his group are some of the only remaining Hera-seijin's left in the universe. Over ten thousand years ago, we took it upon ourselves to stop him. All four of us kais worked together and sealed Bojack within a star at the edge of the Northern Quadrant."

"He's trapped in a star?" Goku asked in amazement.

This question had King Kai pace around, before looking back at the Saiyan uneasily, "Not anymore. You set him free when you destroyed my planet in your battle against Cell. The four point seal was broken and allowed Bojack and his gang to escape. Now he's returned to finish what he started… to conquer the universe." The man's glasses flashed as he then looked up once again, this time with fear evident on his face, "And it looks like his first target is planet earth."

In spite of this grave news, Goku was unshaken. In fact, a smile broke out on his face as he regarded his trainer's information with confidence, "Then he's already defeated. My son will stop him."

OOO

(Back on Earth)

Exiting his battle zone into another, Gohan soon found himself flying over a desolate landscape of ancient ruins and rundown buildings almost reminiscent of Ancient Greece. Ignoring the impressive layout of the field, the oddly colored sky above and the powerful alien following close behind, the young half-Saiyan gritted his teeth as he sensed he was finally approaching the point where he could sense the other powerful ki signatures.

"_Krillin. Trunks…"_

It wasn't long before he arrived at a ruined mansion with a central courtyard. Suspending himself in the air, the demi-Saiyan spotted the unmistakable forms of Trunks and Krillin lying in an untidy heap in the middle of the quad. Concerned for their wellbeing, Gohan super speeded down to them and skidded to a stop directly beside their bodies, where he quickly began checking for signs of life.

Relieved when he sensed that they were still alive, the boy began to gently shake them, "Trunks. Wake up." He then patted the short fighter lying beneath the unconscious time-traveler, "Come on, Krillin."

Just as he was in the process of trying to rouse them from their slumbers, the boy sensed the presence of his opponent land behind him. Glancing over his shoulder to see the short, turban wearing Bujin grinning at him, the boy then looked up towards a nearby balcony to see two more figures standing there. On the left he saw a beautiful young woman with curly orange hair and on the right a large alien of the same species with a Mohawk and a vest. Both of them were staring down at him and both of them had smug smiles in play.

"_So much energy," _Gohan thought, a bead of sweat running down the side of his head. _"Their power levels are in the same league as mine."_ To be more precise, they were about as strong as those Cell Juniors that'd attacked and tormented his friends, only less concentrated, making it difficult to get an exact reading.

This pretty much told the Saiyan that these guys were no longer afraid of hiding.

The tall alien with the goatee and punk-rocker hair style grinned, "Hey kid. This is a nice planet you've got here."

"Very picturesque… and so filled with life," the woman spoke up, sitting down on one of the railings and flicking her hair back elegantly. "Are you the guardian of this sector?"

Frowning, the half-Saiyan stood up, "That depends on who's asking."

The boy then became aware of the sound of chains jangling and footsteps approaching, which drew his glare towards the doorway standing between the two invaders. Eyeing it suspiciously, Gohan's expression slowly transformed into one of shock when, from out of the shadows of the dilapidated building, he saw another alien emerge. Dressed in a long blue trench coat with golden buckles, a black top, white pants, red sash and boots, with a bandana holding down his bushy orange hair, the newcomer was also embroidered with jewelry and had a hideous scar running across his face. While slightly shorter than the alien on his left, the man was no less the most imposing of the group.

A chuckle escaped the alien's lips, "I think that would be _me_, boy."

His grin wasn't just the most menacing of his entourage, but Gohan could sense nothing but bad mojo coming off of him too. Clenching his fists, the demi-Saiyan held his ground beside his two unconscious comrades.

"His energy is amazing," the boy murmured while narrowing his eyes. _"Incredible. This one… his power level is even __**greater**__ than Cell's when I first fought him."_

Just as he was beginning to square off against the alien boss and his cohorts, two pods suddenly flew overhead and from them, Tien and Yamcha descended to the ground. Landing on either side of Gohan, the two adult males glare across at the creatures responsible for taking out their teammates.

"You murderers," Tien snarled, unable to stop the beads of sweat that appeared on his head, "You killed the intergalactic fighters."

Snickering, the turban wearing alien got down to one knee and placed a hand over his chest, at the same time his other two companions did as well.

"Those so called 'fighters' were trespassing. Earth belongs to my master now," Bujin chirped, a statement that drew an arrogant chuckle from the group's leader up high.

Gohan's frown deepened, "Oh yeah?"

"Not while we're still breathing," Yamcha shot back, prompting the two aliens flanking their boss to rise to their feet and come to his defense.

The big one raised his hand and gestured grandly to the earthlings, "Master Bojack has no equal. He has journeyed across this far-reaching universe uncontested and undefeated."

"Many powerful warriors have fallen before the might of our master," the woman continued without skipping a beat. "All those who've dared to challenge his will have ended up crushed underneath his heel and turned to ash."

"Master is not patient. You would be wise to stand down," Bujin exclaimed from behind, drawing the trio's attention towards the short alien. When they looked at him, they saw the little cretin grin, "Or better yet… _kneel_."

"We'll pass thanks!" Yamcha shouted as both he and Tien dropped into fighting forms.

Their stances prompting the trio of alien bodyguards to change their tune, the two Z-fighters quickly picked their targets. Once they were selected, the pair took off and went in for the attack.

It happened in an instant. Faster than any adversary had ever dealt with him before, the second Tien chased after Bujin through the ruins of the building, he ended up struck from behind and kicked into a wall by his pintsized opponent, where he was buried under a heavy pile of rubble. Yamcha fared no better against his quarry either, attempting to strike out at the woman and instead wound up getting cut down from all sides and slide-kicked across the ground, where he found himself skidding into the pile to join Trunks and Krillin.

In less than three seconds, it was over.

Gohan, shocked at how handily the aliens had dispatched his friends, looked down at the fallen Yamcha and then across at Tien. Seeing the two of them lying in unconscious wrecks where they had fallen, the young half-Saiyan clenched his fists in anger and glared up towards the still smirking Bojack.

His charcoal eyes locking with the murderous ones of the alien conqueror, Gohan felt his anger swell.

"Bring it," Gohan said as golden beams of light began shooting up from the ground around him before his body was lit up by a golden aura, which spiked up his hair, flashed it gold and turned his eyes teal.

Sensing the demi-Saiyan's ki climb to an incredible level had Bojack raise an eyebrow. "Interesting." After taking a moment to gauge the youngster's power, the demon then turned his attention to his subordinates, "Zangya, Bujin, Bido… take him…"

Smiling as each of their names were spoken in turn, the orange haired aliens then leapt from their master's flanks and flew at the young Super Saiyan from all sides. Responding to their sudden maneuvers, Gohan blasted backwards in the form of a yellow blur and elbowed an approaching Bujin in the face, smashing him through the ruined building's wall. Upon dispersing of his first foe, Gohan then sprang into the air and flew through the upper part of the barrier while at the same time being pursued by the other two.

Chasing the half-Saiyan through the hole and into the air above the village, the large Bido let out a yell and threw a left hook at the boy. Gohan caught the punch and, after grabbing the man's forearm, used the brute's momentum to spin him around and throw him back through the wall he'd come, taking out what was left of it.

Avoiding her teammate, who smashed into the ground along with a shower of rubble, Zangya picked up speed and rocketed towards her foe with a smile.

Taking aim, Gohan threw his hands forward and with a gutsy yell, fired a large blue ball of energy towards the approaching woman.

Responding to the threat, Zangya gritted her teeth and smacked the attack away with a shout, sending the ball of energy curling through the air before it detonated half a kilometer away, wiping out an entire block of the rundown city. Upon which she then flew up at the demi-Saiyan and opened up on him with a flurry of attacks, the pair beginning a fierce exchange of machinegun blows that they parried and executed at lightning speed.

Feeling the ground tremor from the colossal explosion, Bido took that as his cue and, marking his target, crossed his arms over his chest and threw them forward. With a mighty bellow, he unleashed a torrent of thin red energy beams from his fingers, which homed in on their target.

Throwing a kick and blocking a punishing left hook from her opponent, the fiercely battling Zangya smirked when she sensed her teammate's attack approaching from behind. Disengaging in time to avoid her opponent's roundhouse kick, the woman straightened up, folded her arms across her chest and, with a playful giggle, twirled in a graceful backward maneuver, her hair bellowing like a cape as the barrage of red beams curled around her lithe form and flew towards her opponent. With a shout, Gohan cocked his fist back and smacked all of the beams away, causing them to fly past him and slam into an invisible barrier.

When they exploded, they punched an enormous hole through the wall dividing their battle zone from another, the fragments of sky breaking away to reveal a secondary city.

The trio of aliens quickly forming up behind one another, Zangya and her team then scattered and flew at Gohan from all sides. Unable to mark a target in time, the blonde crossed both his arms over his face and took the three simultaneous punches all at once, a loud shockwave ringing out that rattled the entire stadium. The aliens ended up tackling the boy and slamming him straight through another camouflaged barrier directly behind him, pushing him into the central city battle zone Trunks had defeated Gokuha earlier.

Flying into the open, Gohan managed to throw his three attackers off of him and continued flying backwards in a hasty retreat, positioning himself over the downtown area several hundred feet below. Eyes darting about, he watched his opponents fly into formation once again and, one after the other, make a B-line straight for his position. Responding in kind, the half-Saiyan charged, ducking the chop Zangya threw at him, slamming his hands down on Bido's head when he swung in with an over flourished right overhand and flipping over him, and leaping over the flying kick Bujin followed with immediately afterwards. Soon he'd passed right by all three of them and flew off, forcing the aliens that'd overshot their target to course correct and fly after him.

Gaining enough distance, Gohan turned in midair and slowed, allowing the trio to catch up for a third time. Now that he'd adjusted for their speed and combinations, he was ready for them.

Marking the boy, Bujin, Bido and Zangya closed in on him from his right, left and front respectively, and once they were in range, they attacked. Without even blinking, Gohan blocked the chop from his right, the hook from his left, and checked the kick from the front, the blows slamming into him one after the other with concussive force. Their attacks stopped, the trio looked up at the boy's unflinching gaze in shock, before the demi-Saiyan threw his arms out and blasted them away with a shockwave and a yell, scattering them throughout the city's airspace.

Managing to stop themselves, the three mercenary aliens glared back at their opponent, whom they saw was eyeing each of them carefully.

Zangya smirked in surprise, "My, my. This one knows how to fight."

Responding to the remark, Gohan threw his arms and legs out and powered up, his golden aura exploding around him and pulsing at a high frequency. After gathering enough energy, the half-Saiyan took aim and fired three simultaneous golden blasts at his opponents, the attacks flying at the trio at high speed. Zangya responded quickly and backhanded the shot away, causing it to collide with a distant hotel complex and disintegrating the building in a massive, dome shaped explosion. Bujin effectively kicked his away and sent it into the streets, leveling a block of flats, while Bido took his against a cross-arm block and dispelled it with a yell.

However, the moment he looked back at his group's target, the big alien suddenly saw the boy right in front of him and flying at him with a kick. Before he could even gasp, Gohan slammed his leg right into the alien's chest, causing spit to fly out of Bido's mouth.

It seemed like a clean hit. But as it turned out, despite the speed and force of the attack the invader had in fact, at the very last second, managed to catch the boy's extended leg with his hand and, grinning roguishly, wrapped an arm around the boy's body and began to crush the kid against his chest. He pressed the kid's leg in at the same time, squashing him in from both directions.

Yelping when the man began to apply unwarranted pressure on him, Gohan slammed both hands into the guy's shoulders to push him away. But then, sensing danger, the boy's eyes snapped over his shoulder to see Bujin flying right at his head with a kick of his own.

"Hold still!"

With a shout of surprise, Gohan threw his body back and swayed under the kick, which ended up slamming Bido in the face and knocking the brute back. The unintended blow managed to free the Super Saiyan from his opponent's hold and allowed the boy to drop altitude, while the star struck Bido fumed.

"Watch it, you moron!"

Bujin freaked out and waved at his teammate apologetically, "Sorry! Sorry! I wasn't aiming for you!"

While Gohan glared up at the two bickering aliens, he suddenly sensed another incoming attack and spun around. Reacting quickly, he threw his hands up just in time to catch the red blast thrown at him by Zangya, which slowly began to push him down to the roof of one of the apartment buildings far below. As the stream of angry red energy continued to painfully grind into his palms, causing excess sparks to fly off in all directions, the Super Saiyan hybrid gave a loud growl and, with a shout of effort, hurled the blast skywards, straight up towards Bujin and Bido.

When the two comrades finally returned their attention to their quarry, the duo had to take immediate action to avoid their teammate's deflected attack, which tore right past them like a missile. The second they dodged it, it nosedived and struck a distant clock tower, nuking the entire block in the form of a red, exploding sphere, reducing all the buildings within the kilometer blast radius to ash.

As the trembling earth and explosion faded, Gohan took a defensive stance and held his ground, watching as Zangya and Bujin dropped down from the sky to land on either side of him. The moment they did, they began attacking him in a blur of movement, fists and kicks flying at him from both sides and forcing the young Super Saiyan to dodge and block. He did well in parrying a majority of the attacks, even retaliating with a few elbows and shots of his own, forcing them to back off.

While he fought on, Gohan's eyes caught sight of Bido circling him and his opponents from a distance, obviously looking for an opening. Eventually, after a solid streak of successfully fending off his two attackers, the blonde ended up taking a knee to the stomach from his opportunistic female adversary. The blow was able to lift him into the air long enough for Bujin to drive a hammer blow into his back, which sent him into the roof of the hotel and crashing through every single floor on the way down. He ended up slamming into ground a second later, but not before blasting out every single window and causing the entire interior of the structure to implode.

Smirking, both Zangya and Bujin retreated, allowing Bido to take position above the smoking complex. Bringing his hand up, the large alien fighter then produced a pinkish red energy sphere above his palm, which crackled and pulsed when he fed ki into it. Once it'd achieved form and stability, he hurled it straight down into the building, watching it plough through every floor before detonating.

A red, dome-like explosion engulfed the entire neighborhood, practically nuking the entire city while the three aliens responsible for the destruction hovered safely out of reach. Watching the attack burn away and an enormous smoking crater two kilometers wide emerge from the blast, the group then saw a golden flash shoot out from the ground outside of the crater, dart down the streets and stop out in the open.

"Tough little runt." Clicking his tongue in annoyance at having missed, Bido dove after the half-Saiyan, followed closely by his two companions.

XXX

The audience members that'd remained behind in the stadium to watch the events unfold on the monitors, hoping above all hope that their great savior, Mr. Satan, would step in to take down the alien invaders that'd shanghaied their tournament, were astonished by what they were seeing.

Through the automated cameras roaming around the various battle zones, the people were able to get a full, unobstructed view of the competitor Son Gohan, coming to the aid of his fallen comrades and facing down the band of aliens terrorizing the grounds. After seeing two of the other preliminary contestants get taken out when they attempted to help the young fighter, they then saw the boy go through a remarkable transformation that turned his hair gold, before engaging three of the aliens in a fierce battle across the island.

His duel against them took them from the ancient city site into the central battle zone directly beneath the main stadium, where they proceeded to fight a war comparable to what the entire world witnessed at the Cell Games.

Clamoring and staring up at the screens, unblinking, the audience had to brace themselves as explosions capable of laying waste to whole countries rocked the entire island to its core. For half of the time, the camera was able to capture Son Gohan's struggle against the invaders as he fought through the skies and from rooftop to rooftop at blinding speeds, before vanishing into a dimension of travel that the human eye just couldn't even keep up with. It was mind boggling, and the entire audience was gripping their seats, wondering whether or not this was a trick.

Videl on the other hand was no fool. Body trembling as she watched the events play out, the raven haired girl refused to tear her eyes away. Even when the screen blasted the spectators with dazzling light at the outset of each explosion, the daughter of the Great Hercule Satan didn't even flinch, as she watched the most amazing thing she'd ever seen in her life.

"_Don't give up, Gohan,"_ Videl thought, clenching her jaw tightly as she saw the boy dash across the city and out into the open, waiting for his opponents to follow._ "You can beat them! I know you can!"_ She cheered inwardly, giving the demi-Saiyan all the support he needed.

There was no doubt in her mind now; Gohan was the boy that'd fought against that monster Cell all those weeks ago. Martial artists battling in the skies, his remarkable display of strength, their speed, their lightning fast techniques, and the blasts of energy they exuded from their bodies… it all fit.

With this realization now in her grasp and with even more questions rampaging through her head, all Videl could do now was watch and pray the boy made it through alive.

The last thing she wanted to see was her newfound friend dying on live television…

XXX

Crouching down on the outskirts of the city, a very bruised and battered Gohan breathed out a sigh of exhaustion, catching his breath while at the same time surveying the destruction that'd been wrought to the area. _"These guys are as every bit as tough as Cell was. I don't think I'll be able to beat them three on one."_ Damn it if he wasn't going to do his best though, because no matter what it took he was going to defeat these guys.

His eyes snapped upwards when he heard the sound of approaching jets, but were in fact his opponents breaking the sound barrier._ "Here goes everything!"_

Leaping to his feet, Gohan watched as the plume of smoke that'd been formed from the last attack broke apart and his three alien opponents come swooping in. Strafing low across the city, the aliens bore down on the youngster with all sights locked onto the Super Saiyan and, in a matter of seconds, were right on top of him.

Parrying the opening straight from Zangya, Gohan then ducked the wide hook thrown by Bido before gripping the man's arm and slamming a kick across his face. He then bounced that same foot off of the man's head and slammed it into Zangya's in turn. The demi-Saiyan did this repeatedly; spring backing his kicks between his two aliens until he dropped to the ground and sweep kicked both in the legs so that they lost balance. Once done, he then back-flipped to avoid Bujin dropping a heel kick from above.

The second he landed and his opponents recovered, all hell broke loose. Just like how his father had battled all of Turles's men all those years ago, Gohan began fighting all three of them at once in a running battle across the wide open, deserted prairie. Like a pinball, he shot between his three opponents flying in left and right, exchanging flurries of blows before beginning to backpedal at high speed. His three adversaries pursued him relentlessly, chopping out at him with barrage after barrage of blurred punches and kicks while the boy defended against them with a blur of hand movements. Gohan's eyes darted between all three as he expertly deflected and fended off their attacks.

Managing to catch Zangya's fist, he spun and threw her into Bujin, allowing him to escape and begin fighting them in a scattered fashion across the ruined clearing. His form blurred out into an orange bolt, skipping from hill to hill, before inevitably returning to the city rooftops.

While explosions and blurred figures continued darting across the city in various directions, the imposing figure of the group's leader Bojack appeared atop the tallest tower and watched on with a smug grin in play. Arms folded and coat waving on the wind, the man chuckled when he saw Gohan deflect one of Bido's blasts with an energy ball of his own, before hurling it into his chest and sending the alien into a building.

"Impressive. His level of skill is far more advanced than I'd hoped. This should be fun," the demon remarked in a condescending tone of voice.

Dodging several massive cement blocks being hurled at him by Bujin, Gohan sprang out of the narrow corridor of the alleyway he was in and onto the roof of another apartment building. As soon as he landed, the boy had to block attacks from both sides when Bido and Bujin appeared out of the air, and began pressuring him with another vicious assault.

Parrying dozens of punches and kicks, the wily young fighter then took several staggering hits across the face and body. Brain rattled, Gohan gave a loud snarl and, with a howl of rage, he threw both hands out and unleashed two golden spheres of energy into the pair's chests. _**"Masenko!"**_ The two attacks drilled into Bujin and Bido, both of them yelling out in shock before they were sent spiraling for over two kilometers through several buildings. Massive explosions occurred seconds later over the horizons, allowing Gohan to drop back down to the building and collapse to his knees.

Panting with one eye shut, he looked up to see Zangya land on the rooftop across the way, smirking at him. Gritting his teeth, the boy threw back his hand and forward. _**"Bakumadan!"**_ A sharp golden blast of energy launched from his palm and flew at the girl like a lance, prompting her to act.

"It's about time we got up to the fancy moves!" the woman exclaimed, suddenly beginning to spin on the spot like a top, causing her form to blur into an orange tornado. _**"Beauty Trigger!" **_As soon as she'd gained enough momentum, a red ball of energy was flung from her spinning form and sent arcing across the gap.

The two attacks collided in midair, the blasts transforming into two battling spheres of gold and red energy, which pressed into one another like rubber balls. As they struggled, grew and started emitting bolts of multicolored lightning which tore apart the surrounding buildings and caused three to collapse, the opposing attacks then shot off in separate directions, forcing Gohan and Zangya to sway and avoid them. They then watched as their rebounded blasts struck the barriers between the battle zones on opposite ends of the map, and two enormous dome shaped explosions nuked the island, forming massive craters.

When the tremors died out, a thoroughly winded Gohan looked to see Zangya round back on him, grin and bring two fingers to her forehead like the tip of a pistol.

"_**Spark Laser!"**_ A bolt of red lightning then shot from her forehead, which struck the boy full in the chest and sent him rocketing off the rooftop. The young Saiyan gave a cry of agony as he was plowed through the same crater formed by Bido's previous attack and rammed into a wall on the far side.

The impact cracking the brickwork, Gohan crashed to the floor. Coughing up blood and feeling his skin singing from the damage, the Super Saiyan forced himself to his feet and looked up. Through blurred vision, he spotted Bojack landing on the same rooftop he'd previously been on, and was shortly flanked by Zangya, Bido and Bujin, the latter two looking like they'd been run over by a heard of stampeding rhinos on fire, courtesy of his _Masenko_ combo.

Standing up when he saw the demons leering at him from one kilometer away, Gohan took a stance, only to feel a sharp sting of pain strike him in the shoulder, which staggered him. Wincing, the boy glared back at the building, where he saw his three opponents with their fingers raised in his direction, all primed and ready.

Forming a cross arm block, Gohan was then bombarded by a barrage of fingers beams, which peppered him like machinegun fire. Tearing into his gi and hitting him all over from head to toe, the young demi-Saiyan withstood the assault for several long seconds before collapsing to his hands and knees. Bleeding from numerous puncture wounds and panting heavily, the Z-fighter then looked up through a half-lidded gaze as the fatigue of his long battle finally took its toll.

"Great," he groaned, his hair turning black as he faded out of his Super Saiyan form.

XXX

"He's in danger!" King Kai shouted, looking over his shoulder to see Goku standing there with his hand pressed against his back and a nervous look on his face.

"Gohan! Focus! Draw strength from your anger! Show them your true power!" With his mind connected to his teacher's, who had _his_ focused on the battle going on down below, both figures could clearly see what was happening.

The demi-Saiyan had started off brilliantly and had been holding his own incredibly well, even coming close to beating them. But unfortunately, his current level of effort was not going to be enough…

XXX

Taking advantage of his target's weakened state, Bojack, charging an enormous ball of green energy between his hands, then held the sphere above his head and hurled it forward. The projectile increased in size and mass as it rocketed across the clearing, expanding to a ridiculous extent as it approached its target.

Gohan had just enough time to get to his feet and throw up a guard before the attack was right on top of him and set to engulf him completely.

But then, just when it seemed like it was over, out of nowhere a golden beam with a purple corkscrew traveling at the speed of light crashed into the side of the enormous sphere, and sent both shooting off in another direction. The attacks made landfall in another distant battle zone well out of harm's reach, where they completely wiped that part of the island off of the face of the map.

The earthquake fading, an annoyed Bojack and crew glanced in the direction the blast had come. There, standing atop a clock tower, they saw the caped form of a Namekian warrior standing there with his arms folded and eyes fixed squarely on them.

Realizing he'd been saved, Gohan looked to see who it was he had to thank and brightened up when he spotted the silhouette of his teacher in the distance. "Piccolo! Man, am I glad to see you!"

Grunting, the former guardian of the earth fixed a glare upon the gangsters standing on top of the roof. "Looks like you've found a good fight. Mind if I cut in?" With that statement, the man removed his cape and turban, and lazily tossed them away. "Party's over, fellas. It's time for you to clear out."

The newcomer's threat prompting Bojack to roll his eyes, the demon then watched on as the Namekian disappeared from his post and shot across the city rooftops at an impressive speed.

Not fast enough apparently, because the moment Piccolo appeared in front of the leader with a jab as his greeting, the alien boss effortlessly ducked the blow and kneed the Namekian in the stomach. The blow caused Piccolo to double over, leaving him wide open for a punch across the face.

Growling, the green fighter then countered with a swift kick to the demon's chest, the blow eliciting an 'oof' from the tyrant as he was thrown off the roof and sent flying into another building across the street where he crashed. The attack did shake the man up a little, but in the long run it didn't affect him at all.

Following up on his assault, Piccolo charged in, bringing his hands up to drop down on top of the leader with a hammer blow. But the moment he got in close, the demon snapped his foot up and caught Gohan's teacher in the chest, sending the Namekian warrior blasting into the sky. Recovering quickly, Piccolo charged a golden sphere of energy in his hand and tossed it, the ball scattering into dozens of smaller spheres which caved in on its target and peppered Bojack with multiple explosions.

The Namekian threw several more of these shots, bringing the entire building down in a fantastic display of destruction.

Gritting his teeth, Piccolo then picked up his opponent's signature and spun around, where he saw Bojack phase into view several stories above him and launch a ball of green energy straight down at him. Taking a defensive stance in midair, the Namekian backhanded the attack away, sending it crashing into another building. But the moment he deflected the attack, the Z-fighter realized the shooter had relocated and quickly began searching for him.

It didn't take long for Bojack to reappear. Hovering upside down behind the cloud of smoke rising from the recently collapsed building, the demon fired another energy ball straight into the Namekian's back, who spun around in time to catch it.

Feeling the attack burn into his hands as it pushed him down the street Piccolo then gave a hearty growl and tossed the sphere of energy into another suburb. This, unfortunately, left him wide open to another blast that slammed into his chest and exploded, causing him to fly through a church and out the other end.

The demon responsible for the combo chuckled, "Game over."

After slamming into a wall, which effectively stopped his momentum, the Namekian then began to plummet towards the ground.

Gohan, reacting in alarm, finished recovering from his damage, dashed across the crater and took flight, picking up speed when he saw Bojack bearing down upon his falling teacher.

"PICCOLO!"

Flying low and pulling up, the young Saiyan managed to catch his master. The moment he turned his gaze towards the clouds though, he saw Bojack bring his hand back and prepare to unleash another colossal blast of energy. The demon stopped a split second early when, all of a sudden, a glowing person teleported directly in front of him.

It only took the surprised Gohan a split second to recognize the now vestless person.

"Trunks! You're alright!," the demi-Saiyan exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief as the bruised up, time traveling warrior in the black singlet and pants faced the planet's current threat down in his Super Saiyan state.

Hair spiked up with his golden aura fluctuating around him, Trunks set the imposing demon in his crosshairs. "Bojack! You will _not_ take this planet!" Cupping his hands in front, the boy then unleashed a hell storm of blue energy blasts that shot towards Bojack like missiles honing in on his position.

Smirking, the demon threw his hand forward and produced an energy shield, the first dozen beams colliding with it headlong before beginning to explode one after the other. It was an impressive first wave, but the assault didn't stop there.

Trunks opened up the throttle with over a hundred energy beams, which poured out of his hands in a continuous stream, and completely decimated the entire city block in front of him. Soon enough, his target had become completely blocked out behind a screen of fire and smoke, which became the result of all the energy bombardment attempting to rip the man apart.

Soon enough, Trunks ceased his attack and lowered his hands, watching the smoke lift from the area. When it did, he soon spotted his opponent standing atop a spire of another Victorian era church and, not only was he completely unfazed by the attack, but the demon was smirking in the half-Saiyan's direction.

"Shit!" Intent on continuing the battle, Trunks blasted forward. But just as he was about to engage the leader of the group once more, he unexpectedly felt all of his momentum come to a complete stop and what felt like hundreds of tiny steel ropes wrap around his body, holding him in place.

Suspended in midair, the young male looked down in panic, wondering why he'd suddenly stopped moving. Spotting the telltale signs of what appeared to be light reflecting off of invisible wires tangled around his body, Trunks turned to see Bido and Bujin standing on the roof behind him, the latter with his hands extended towards him and the former carrying a broken metal support pillar shaped into a makeshift spear.

Realizing that it was the short one that had cast the strange energy wires that were now ensnaring him, Trunks attempted to break free. He jerked and thrashed about violently, using all his strength in an effort to remove the binds. However, as the net continued to hold and reel him in, the young man quickly found that the more he struggled, the more energy was drained from his body. Apparently, the seals binding him not only held him in place and kept him from moving, but it also fed off of the target's energy to maintain its strength, which had the half-Saiyan cursing inwardly.

Seconds later, Trunks faded out of Super Saiyan form, a cry of agony escaping his lips as he unsuccessfully tried to break free once again.

Giggling mischievously, Bujin then nodded toward his larger companion to finish off their hapless target. It was a signal Bido was more than glad to follow up on, for the moment it was given the alien took the makeshift lance up in one hand and chucked the length of metal straight up at the time-traveler. The lance shot towards Trunks like a bullet, the young man quickly bracing for impact.

But just when it seemed like he would be run through by the projectile and killed, a flash of light, a whistle, followed by a resounding clang of metal, knocked the projectile out of the air and, at the same time, sliced through the wires binding the demi-Saiyan.

Freed of the restraints, Trunks spun around in time to catch the sword which boomeranged back toward him, as well as the scabbard that flew in immediately afterwards. The second he did, he saw the building beneath Bujin and Bido go up in a fiery explosion, knocking the two stunned aliens into the air and clogging the entire neighborhood in smoke.

Sheathing his weapon and buckling it around him, the lavender haired warrior grinned when he sensed a familiar presence enter the scene. There was only one man he knew who would ever think of making an entrance as pronounced as that.

"Father!"

Looking up from the pile of rubble where they were lying, Bujin and Bido spotted the silhouette of the individual responsible for the explosion appear within the wall of smoke. The outline of a flame style haircut and the sense of foreboding that came with it was more than enough to tell the pair that this newcomer meant business.

"Leave them to me." The smoke was then violently blown away when Vegeta powered up, his transformation to Super Saiyan producing a fierce gale and filling the entire area with a bright light that had the two fallen aliens wince. Once he was certain he'd gotten their attention, the Prince of Saiyans, with his arms folded proudly across his chest, ascended to the same level Trunks and Bojack were on.

As soon as he reached their altitude, the newcomer fixed his best glare on the would-be conqueror of their world, while at the same time sparing a glance down at the men that had nearly slain his son. The sight of the invaders had Vegeta scowl.

Landing in a nearby yard, Gohan set the wounded and unconscious Piccolo carefully on the floor. After making sure he was comfortable and that his wounds weren't fatal, the boy then looked up towards the skyline where the action was taking place.

"Vegeta?" Honestly, the last person he expected to come to their rescue after all the things that'd happened was his father's main rival and former enemy.

Today was just full of surprises.

After facing down with Bojack for a good long while, getting a scope of exactly what they were up against, Vegeta then sensed an incoming attack from below and, acting quickly, moved in time to dodge a leaping punch from the pintsized Bujin. Gritting his teeth in irritation, the last full-blooded Saiyan left alive kicked the little imp in the head and sent him spiraling into a building, before then turning his attention to Bido, who attempted to get him from behind with a hook, only to have his wrist caught and his arm twisted behind him with a sickening crack.

"GAH! W-What the…? Hey! Let go of me!"

Shouting in pain at the arm lock and caught completely off guard, the large alien attempted to pull his way free until he heard Vegeta speak to him in a low, threatening tone of voice, "I don't have time to deal with small fry… especially ones who try to attack me from behind!" Then, without a second thought, the obviously pissed off Super Saiyan held his free hand up and, with a roar, unleashed a powerful blast at pointblank range right into Bido's back. Not making the same mistake of beating around the bush, the Saiyan Prince promptly finished the prick with an attack that went straight through the man's body and out the other side with a thunderclap.

With absolutely no way to defend himself or resist the attack, Bido had a split second to holler out in agony before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his entire form went limp when the stream of energy faded.

"That one was from me." Holding the hapless alien up by the wrist, Vegeta momentarily glared down at the corpse._ "And from my son, you trash."_ He then turned to Bojack, who seemed completely unfazed by the killing of one of his henchmen.

In fact, the demon looked thoroughly amused.

"Is this shit yours?" the Saiyan Prince asked, shaking the cadaver of the recently deceased Bido for extra incentive. Receiving no response, the Saiyan warrior then dropped the body and allowed it to freefall to the streets forty stories below.

The second Bido's body hit the pavement with a deafening thud Vegeta cracked his neck, cocked his hands back, and threw them forward with a yell of rage, unleashing a blast of raw blue energy straight towards the gang leader. Bojack responded immediately with a laugh and a beam of his own, the green blast colliding with the Prince's in midair and generating an explosion that shook the entire area.

The instant the blast rang out the two warriors then flew at each other and began the most intense dogfight the world had ever seen, both firing continuous blasts at one another while attempting to shoot the other out of the sky. The first building to fall succumbed to an onslaught of attacks from top to bottom when the two full-blooded aliens attempted to outstrip the other. The rest to follow were just acceptable losses, as Vegeta and Bojack darted from one structure to another engaging in a fierce shootout. Blue and green streaks of energy crisscrossed the skies of the battle zone, forming craters, crumbling buildings, and creating fissures the size of the Grand Canyon that began to split the entire region apart.

The pair actually caused more damage in the first few seconds of their fight than Gohan, Piccolo and Trunks in their entire bouts.

"_I don't understand you father. You lost your will to fight ever since Goku died, but as soon as Gohan and I are in danger, here you are defending us,"_ Mirai Trunks thought, unable to comprehend the enigma that was his old man. Perhaps it was one of those Saiyan things he never truly came to immerse himself with.

"_**Final Flash!" **_Vegeta's bellow echoed across the city when the man unleashed a colossal beam of energy at his foe down the main road. The golden blast ripped the highway apart and tore a trench all the way towards the demon standing in its path.

Gritting his teeth, Bojack wisely chose to avoid the attack and watched it streak past him, detonating over the horizon like a concentrated hydrogen bomb before responding to the attack with a second blast that slammed into the surprised Saiyan's chest. The explosion knocked the Prince tumbling down the road, where he skidded to a stop a hundred meters later with his chest armor smoldering.

Seeing his father in trouble, Trunks powered up to his Super Saiyan form and rocketed forward, only to be stopped by Zangya and Bujin appearing in his path. The two aliens smiled at him when they blocked his way.

Looking up from his position on the ground, Vegeta saw his son squaring off with the other two aliens and frowned, "Trunks! Stay back!" Unfortunately, the man didn't have time to scold the boy, because the second he did the ground in front of him exploded and a fist came flying out of the cloud to slam across his face. The laughing Bojack sent the Saiyan Prince bouncing down the road at high speed like a rock skipping across the water. After a brief flight, Vegeta's body eventually collided with a distant tower, which collapsed under the force of the impact.

Smoke rising into the air from the toppling structure, Vegeta's glowing form soon shot out of the cloud and into the sky above the city. As soon as he reappeared, he saw Bojack hurl an enormous ball of green energy at him, which curved through the air at an incredible speed. Responding quickly, the Saiyan Prince backhanded the attack, causing the ball to break apart and the rebound to fly in the demon's direction. Rushing in through the barrage of his own deflected sphere, ignoring the fragments as they leveled the buildings around him, Bojack engaged Vegeta in close combat, trading lightning fast punches and kicks with him across the skies.

Sonic booms ringing out with every exchange, the demon eventually dodged a swift one-two and a kick, snickering in amusement before slamming a fist across his adversary's face. The blow sent Vegeta into a distant suburb, where he bounced and spun off of the rooftops like a ragdoll. Flying around and intercepting the Saiyan Prince in an instant, Bojack ended up kneeing the stricken warrior into the sky. Upon setting him up like a soccer ball, the alien leader then teleported directly beside the ascending Vegeta and, with a quick spin, slammed a bone breaking kick into his side.

The blow saw Vegeta hurling through several more buildings in a whole other direction.

"That's ten points," Bojack chuckled.

Flying out of his tenth building, Vegeta's battered form continued on across the street at an alarming rate. But just before his back could hit the next building, he was stopped in his tracks by his son flying in and intercepting the Prince at the last second.

Trunks, appearing winded from his battle with his two alien opponents, looked down at his old man to see if he was alright. Apparently, the blow from Bojack had managed to crack several of his ribs, as indicated by how Vegeta was now painfully holding his side.

This was not good.

"Father, let me help. You're not strong enough," Trunks murmured. His answer soon came in the form of an elbow directly in the solar plexus.

The annoyed Vegeta scoffed while his son doubled over, "Don't make me tell you twice." He then powered up and went charging after Bojack for a third round.

XXX

"P-Piccolo," Gohan murmured, seeing his master look up at him through a half-lidded gaze as he supported him with his hand.

Even though the man was conscious now, in the condition that he was in, burnt, bruised and barely even able to raise his head, there was no way he could continue on fighting. Piccolo was one of the strongest people the boy knew, able to walk through the most brutal of punishments. But the amount of damage Bojack was able to give him with just a few hits and blasts were simply astonishing.

"Th-That man… is powerful," the Namekian choked out, looking up at his student through an agonized expression, "Go help the others. I'm no use to you now… _you_ have to stop them."

Hearing this, the young demi-Saiyan clenched his jaw and nodded, "Right." Setting his master back onto the floor, Gohan stood up, turned to where the battle was taking place, and quickly took flight.

XXX

Spiraling into a massive clock tower, a badly shaken Vegeta ended up embedding himself in the building's wall. Upon which, he was swiftly pursued by his relentless opponent.

Arcing through the air, Bojack held back for a moment to survey the damage before rushing in, aiming a fist at the Saiyan Prince's stomach. The stunned warrior of earth managed to cough out a startled cry of agony when a blow capable of shattering meteorites plowed into him, forcing him to drop out of Super Saiyan form. The attack was also enough to cause the sleeve of Bojack's trench coat to burst into shreds.

After landing his punch, the demon then drove an elbow into Vegeta's chest, shredding his other sleeve while he buried the man deeper into the clock tower. Then, upon pulling away and watching his wounded opponent slump forward, Bojack then underwent a startling transformation. Balling his fists and bringing his arms out, a green aura exploded off of the alien's body and completely disintegrated the remains of his uniform above the waistline.

The sudden power up not only turned Bojack's hair red and his skin green, his entire form also bulked up, causing simultaneous sonic booms to ring out that brought all of the buildings around him crumbling down.

The clock tower was no exception. The second the shockwave hit it, the entire building caved in, with Vegeta letting out a pained cry as he plummeted with the rubble.

His green aura fluctuating around him, the maniacal Bojack brought his hand forward and took aim at the falling warrior. With a grin and a laugh, the alien leader then unleashed a barrage of green energy spheres, which rained down upon the collapsing tower and firebombed the entire neighborhood.

In one fell swoop, the city was engulfed in a series of dome shaped explosions that reduced everything within two kilometers to rubble.

Trunks on the other hand was experiencing problems of his own. After being confronted once again by the deadly temptress Zangya, the young Super Saiyan was forced to duel with her above the city streets.

With graceful acrobatic maneuvers, the orange haired warrior managed to evade all of the demi-Saiyan's blows. Gritting her teeth when she dodged a right cross, she countered with a right spin kick that he blocked and then retaliated against it with a left knee. Parrying the blow with her leg, Zangya growled and, pulling back, slammed a double kick straight into his stomach that sent Trunks plummeting for a couple of stories. After throwing him off, she retreated, forcing the wounded demi-Saiyan to fly after her.

The moment Trunks started gaining altitude though, a flash of pink wires suddenly flickered by his field of vision and, for the second time that day, the time-traveling hero once again found himself ensnared in energy strings. Arms snapping to his sides like bolts, the stunned fighter looked over his shoulder to see Bujin with his hands extended outwards and a smirk on his face.

Unable to free himself, Trunks then received a killer kick to the body from Zangya rushing in to take advantage of the situation.

The moment she started beating on him, more and more explosions engulfed the city streets.

XXX

In the stadium, the people were getting restless. Through the roaming camera moving across the battle zone, the spectators could see enormous explosions rock the neighborhood and Trunks, who'd been battling the two aliens valiantly, suddenly become ensnared by some kind of invisible barrier. From there, under the cries of protest and exclamations of fear, the bystanders watched on helplessly as the blonde haired competitor was slowly beaten into a pulp by his female opponent.

"Oh no!" Chi-Chi gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.

"My Trunks," Bulma also whispered, her eyes wavering in horror.

They were so invested in watching the battle that the pair didn't even notice Mr. Satan appear atop the coliseum's pyramid and forced into one of the waiting rocket pods. As soon as the man was loaded up, X.S Cash's assistant sent him blasting down the track and into the tunnel, the crowd giving a mighty cheer as their 'savior' was sent galloping into battle.

Of course, only a certain few could care less about where _he_ was going.

Videl was one of those people and was now gripping the railing so tightly her fingers were creating impressions in the metal.

"_Gohan… where are you?"_ she asked, cringing when she saw the competitor Trunks take several more punishing blows to the face.

XXX

Loud thuds continued to ring out as Trunks was pummeled by Zangya, the girl continuing to beat on the Saiyan till he was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

But just before she could do anymore damage, Bujin was suddenly caught completely by surprise when Gohan, now back in Super Saiyan form, tackled the man with a glorious full body check, sending the turban wearing alien spinning across the city. After taking him out, the boy then concentrated a ball of ki into his hand and pitched it across at Zangya, who was forced to evade the ball that took out an entire suburb where it landed.

Liberated from the binds, a thoroughly beaten Trunks gasped in relief while Gohan came to float by his side.

"You alright?"

Smiling across at his rescuer, the older demi-Saiyan nodded, "I'll live."

The pair then had their attention drawn across to another building. There, floating down to land on top of the tiled roof, they saw the transformed Bojack smirk across at them arrogantly.

Realizing that Vegeta had been taken down, Trunks gave an enraged growl and, powering up, flew straight at the transformed tyrant. Drawing the sword from his back, the time traveling warrior let out a loud battle cry and swung in at the enormous alien, only to see his target's body become transparent and passed right through an after image. Stunned, the demi-Saiyan was unable to respond in time when a knee from below knocked him into the air, followed immediately by a double-fisted hammer blow that slammed into his back and sent him crashing through every floor of the building beneath him.

A second later, Trunks's body flew out the bottom floor of the apartment and into the street, where he landed on his front and his Super Saiyan form fading with his consciousness. His sword, which had been released in his attempted death blow, spun down from the rooftops and landed several yards away from his position, impaling the ground.

"No!" Gohan shouted, seeing Bojack land on the same roof with his back turned to him. His eyes fixing upon the large alien, the young warrior sweated momentarily at the amount of energy he sensed coming off of the tyrant.

Right now, he was nearly as strong as Cell was when he came back after killing his father.

Not even close to giving up yet, Gohan revved his aura and gunned it, shooting across the suburbs and towards the bulked up Bojack. With a yell of effort, the half-Saiyan threw a swinging right overhand right for the alien's head, only to pass straight through another after image just as Trunks had before. But this time, instead of falling prey to the counter attack, Gohan was able to block the kick and spring off of it, into the sky. Performing several acrobatic flips, the Z-fighter then spun around and hurled an energy ball down at the tyrant, attempting to catch him by surprise.

Despite the swiftness of the blast, Bojack effortlessly slapped the attack away before rocketing up towards the boy and swinging straight at him. Gohan responded in kind by diving towards his foe and uncorking a kick right into the demon's face. The pair collided in midair with a deafening shockwave, which not only cracked the surrounding dome but punched a five hundred foot crater into the city beneath them, pulverizing an entire area of buildings and turning them into dust.

In spite of his kick, Bojack managed to recover faster and buried a fist in the boy's stomach, causing Gohan to double over and cough up blood. Upon stunning him, the large alien then grabbed his leg and with an almighty toss, threw him into the city streets below.

The demi-Saiyan spiraled in, his world a haze as he quickly righted himself and landed atop a town hall. However, the moment Gohan touched down and looked up, he saw Bojack appear directly in front of him and drive a killer hook right into his body, sending the youngster crashing into the house. The force of the blow resulted in the entire building's roof collapsing in on itself in a great cloud of dust and debris.

Shockwaves began ringing out across the city like fireworks as the one-sided battle between Gohan and Bojack carried on. The massive alien invader effortlessly avoided all of his opponent's attempts to attack him and spent the next couple of minutes leisurely beating the crap out of his foe. Every blow he landed was marked with a thunder clap that cracked the ground and shook the buildings, and every miss was followed by a laugh of amusement as the young demi-Saiyan skillfully leapt out of reach. Eventually, Bojack's chasing of his opponent led to him retreating from the youngster when the boy tried to swing at him, which had the alien climb to a safer altitude and hurl an enormous energy ball down at his persistent adversary.

Caught by surprise, Gohan swung his arm back and with a loud shout, deflected the sphere and splintered it, sending the resulting fragments flying up at the caster. Bojack, watching his attack disperse, chuckled loudly and vanished in a crack of wind. He then reappeared directly in front of his opponent, surprising the half-Saiyan fighter and smashing the boy with a lazy punch.

Landing atop another roof, Gohan took flight again to try and get at his opponent. But just as he was beginning to climb, the teen was then forced to dodge a net of pink wires that converged on him from three different directions. Maneuvering evasively, Gohan soon found himself caught in a second net, which not only held him suspended in the sky but had his arms bound tightly at his sides.

Stunned, the youngster struggled to try and free himself, to no avail.

"A stellar performance, but you're not going anywhere thanks to our barrier," the voice of Bujin cut in from the side, drawing the youngster's gaze over to the turban wearing alien. He then looked to his left, where he saw Zangya hover into view with her own hands extended. Both of them had him trapped and at their mercy. "I wouldn't bother trying to break free. The more you struggle, the more energy it drains from your body until you pass out or die."

Letting out a shout, Gohan continued to thrash, pulling at the strings cutting into him from both sides and wiggling his limbs to try and loosen the strain. Feeling his energy get eaten away bit by bit, the young demi-Saiyan tried again and again to free himself from the same technique that'd befallen Trunks. But try as he might, he couldn't break the steel like binds now threatening to suck the life right out of him.

Tilting her head, Zangya gave the struggling young warrior an intrigued look. When she sensed her master Bojack come to float behind her, she then nodded towards the young Saiyan with interest, "This one is strong, master."

"Hmph. Yes… but nowhere nearly as strong as me," Bojack replied, arms folded over his chest while he watched in amusement as Gohan attempted to shake off the wires. "It's such a shame. And here I was hoping to get a little more fun out of him."

"He has spirit. Perhaps we don't need to kill him right away," the tyrant's lieutenant continued, glancing across at the man with a suggestive smile. It was a remark that did not go unheard by the young Super Saiyan hanging in the center of their snares. "He might serve you well as a gofer… or maybe even a palace servant if you were to let him live. His friends did kill Gokuha and Bido after all. I think we owe them a little something for what they did to our teammates." Though it seemed like a good idea at first, when Zangya saw her master look in her direction, the orange haired fighter quickly recoiled at the menacing glare Bojack suddenly threw her way.

Eyes narrowing on his subordinate, the red haired conqueror looked the woman over before retorting. "What makes you think you have the right to give me orders?" His question causing the female fighter to back down out of fear, the towering alien then turned his attention back to their victim, where he looked just in time to see the boy's Super Saiyan form fade away. "Gokuha and Bido were weak. I don't have room in my ranks for weak garbage. Besides…" A foul smirk then crossed his lips, "I already have an idea as to what we can use this one for."

In the blink of an eye, the man appeared in front of Gohan and cocked his fist.

"Give your father a message for me!"

He then slammed his knuckles across the boy's face, backhanding him immediately afterwards. After knocking the Saiyan's head around, Bojack then grabbed the boy by the hair, pulled him over, and drove a knee deep into his stomach, watching the blood fly out of his mouth the moment he released him.

Just as the alien tyrant began the arduous task of pummeling the boy to death, the group was then suddenly distracted by the sight of a red jet pod shooting out from a nearby tunnel and sent rocketing right past them, bouncing off of the surrounding buildings and hurdling towards the ground. There, it smacked into the nearby roaming camera, obliterating it and cutting off the feed between the battle zone and the stadium.

XXX

Up in the stands, the people observing the battle taking place on the monitors were just in the process of watching the young competitor Gohan get the stuffing kicked out of him, until the rocket pod carrying Mr. Satan unexpectedly blasted into view. The people were able to catch a three second glimpse of the Champ screaming behind the wheel of the shuttle, moments before the connection was suddenly knocked out.

The sight not only had the audience shout in protest, as they could no longer see what was happening, but Bulma, Chi-Chi, Videl, Oolong, Chiaotzu and all of the Z-Fighters' friends in the audience gave mixed looks of fear and concern.

"Dad… Gohan," Videl whispered, eyes shimmering as she had no idea what was going to happen to them.

XXX

After a spectacular nosedive which saw the destruction of the automatic camera, Hercule's rocket car then blasted towards Bojack's group on the rebound. The leader, Bujin and Zangya all had to take evasive action when the pod came screaming past them, nearly taking out the turban wearing alien in the process.

The result was the wires trapping Gohan's battered form dissipating on the wind and the young demi-Saiyan feeling the crushing pressure of the wires vanishing in an instant.

Unfortunately, Hercule's little joy ride wasn't to last, because the moment he blew past the group a second time, Bojack took aim with an energy ball and hurled it at the pod. The shuttle was struck high above the ground, where it exploded with a brilliant flash and a fireball that sent the Champ plummeting to the ground. The afro fighter could only cry out in terror as he attempted to flap his arms and gain some lift, only to hilariously smack into the pavement and create a human-shaped crater right in the middle of the main highway.

What was even more amusing was that the impression he made managed to engrave his afro into the brickwork as well.

"Mr. Satan!" Gohan shouted, looking down at the spot where the man had crashed.

Bojack, hovering nearby, smirked at the clown that'd been ejected from the exploding pod. "For your sake, I hope that wasn't the cavalry."

"That's it!" the demi-Saiyan shouted, powering up to Super Saiyan in an instant and rocketing towards Bojack.

A thunderclap rang out when he tackled the demon with a sharp punch that knocked him backwards. Then, in an instant, all three of the remaining aliens charged in and began beating on the Super Saiyan from all sides. In a flurry of punches and kicks, the young warrior battles against the multitude of powerful opponents for a glorious spurt of several seconds.

Then… it ended.

Managing to slam a kick into Bujin's face and simultaneously punch Zangya in the chest, the boy was then kicked in the stomach. The blow sending him skywards, Gohan was then struck in the back by a hook that sent him diving towards the earth.

Crashing through a building and toppling it, the youngster ended up slamming into the massive crater formed by Bido's first attack, where he skidded to a painful stop right in the center of it. The moment he did, his Super Saiyan form faded away.

XXX

"King Kai! There has to be something we can do to help!" Goku shouted, gripping his trainer's shoulder tightly as he and the stunned administrator of the Northern Quadrant of the universe watched powerlessly as Gohan was beaten into the ground by his attackers.

With the rest of the Z-Fighters down and Bojack outnumbering the boy three to one, his son was now on the ropes. In spite of his best efforts, he was still losing and his father knew that if he didn't act soon, then he was going to watch his son get killed…

He had to do something. Anything!

XXX

Chuckling as he landed beside Gohan's battered body, Bojack then wordlessly reached down and picked him up. As soon as he yanked the youngster out of the ground, he then wrapped his arms around the young Saiyan's body, including his arms. Then, without hesitation, he began to crush the boy one piston at a time. The sound of muscles popping and bones creaking echoed out across the city as in a few short seconds the alien tyrant started squeezing the life out of the defenseless fighter. The sudden degree of pressure being applied upon his weakened frame caused a strangled cry to escape the demi-Saiyan's lips.

With Zangya and Bujin floating down to land beside their master, the two of them then stood in contemplative silence as they proceeded to watch as their boss crushed his opponent into a fine paste between his arms and chest.

The sound of the boy's back beginning to split became more pronounced the tighter the alien made his hold.

"How ironic that your father's death was the key to my escape," Bojack mused, continuing to squeeze the boy to the point he started choking up blood. That pretty much told him that everything inside the demi-Saiyan was starting to give in as his bones gradually lost their structural integrity. "I so wanted to thank him personally, but you'll have to do it for me." He then let out another joyous laugh and tightened his grip even more.

Gohan's cries echoed across the deserted city, with a pitch that would send cold chills through even the most hardened of warriors. Even though his screams and exclamations of agony fell upon the deaf, unconscious ears of the downed Z-Fighters scattered across the battle zone, the only ones there to really hear his howls of pain were Bojack and his henchmen.

While the boss relished in the child's suffering and Bujin found himself a seat to enjoy the show, Zangya remained standing.

At first smiling when she saw her boss increase his stranglehold, the young woman then recoiled when she saw Gohan glance in her direction. In his split second gaze, the alien warrior saw the boy's eyes shimmer with hurt and despair, with a thin sheen of tears forming at the brims. Caught completely off guard by the boy's expression, the woman bit her lip and tried to look away.

Unfortunately, her averted gaze did nothing to stop the boy's screams from reaching her ears and after several moments of standing there and listening to his bones crack, Zangya stepped forward.

"Master… I think that's enough…"

Eyes narrowing, Bojack rounded on her aggressively, "Back off, Zangya! Or I'll kill you too!" When he saw the woman step away, the leader grinned down at the child bending in his arms and increased pressure once again. It was only a matter of time before he broke, because a few seconds later he felt Gohan's body go limp and his head cock back. In only a few moments, his life signs started to drop. "This rat has given me more trouble than I can stomach. After I'm done killing him, I'm going to slaughter what's left of his friends, kill every single person on this island, and then, once I've sent them all into the next world, I'm going to destroy this entire planet!" He then chuckled darkly, "And just like with him, I'm going to savor every last scream!"

These words echoed through Gohan's ears, causing the boy's fingers to twitch.

"_M-Mother… Piccolo… Krillin…"_ Images of his friends and family flashed through his head like ghosts, their smiling faces flying in one after the other as his world spiraled into darkness. _"Trunks… Bulma… T-Tien… Yamcha… Videl…"_ More and more faces appeared one after the other in flashes, and all at once, he saw it.

He saw the broken bodies of his loved ones lying across the battlefield as they were killed; their bodies carved up and turned into ash. Fires raged in cities across the globe as he bore witness to Bojack killing his mother, Videl and all of his friends one by one, slowly, painfully, until he saw the entire planet become engulfed in a hellfire as it was wiped from existence.

The screams of millions of innocent people echoed through his ears and with them, he heard the cries of his family and friends. It was these sounds and the culmination of images shooting through his mind like a strobe that eventually sent an electric shock running right through the demi-Saiyan's body and, unable to hold back the flood, jumpstarted his heart.

He remembered! His promise!

He'd sworn to himself, to his father and to his friends that he would be strong for them! He couldn't give up now. Not when everyone and everything he loved was on the line. If he didn't grow up and push forward, then Piccolo, Krillin, Bulma, Videl, everyone…

_**HE WAS**_ _**GOING TO LOSE THEM ALL!**_

Gohan's eyes flew open and, in a startling display of anger, his ki skyrocketed, shocking the three alien invaders standing around him while his once charcoal irises flashed teal.

"NEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR!" Gohan roared, his hair flashing gold and his aura exploding around him like wild fire, shaking the entire island with a violent shockwave that caught Bojack completely by surprise.

"What?"

Then, with a deafening cry of rage that pierced the heavens and baffled the invaders, the boy tensed up, thrust forward with his left hand and grabbed Bojack by his side, the demi-Saiyan's fingers impaling the man's flesh as he dug into the area directly over his kidney.

The group's leader let out a yell of agony when he felt his vital point burn from the boy mercilessly crushing his waist and doubled over in pain, before the young warrior fired a blast at pointblank range right into his soft spot. The blast sent Bojack bouncing like a ragdoll across the open clearing, releasing Gohan from his hold who then suspended himself in the air above the ground. Zangya and Bujin could only look on in disbelief when, in a blinding flash of light, the boy let out a mighty howl of rage and his aura exploded off of him like a tornado. The power he emitted shredded the ground in all directions.

His ki climbing higher and higher without any signs of slowing down, the boy's energy sent shockwaves rippling across the terrain, knocking Zangya and Bujin off their feet and causing several buildings to collapse. After the bellowing waves ended and the light faded away, the three staggered aliens looked back to see what'd happened.

When their eyes landed upon the demi-Saiyan, they saw the boy touchdown and do an about-face, turning to lock his glare upon them. This time though, he looked a little different.

Not only was Gohan's aura sharper and fluctuating at a higher frequency, his hair had spiked up even more and was practically standing on end, save for a single strand hanging over his face. His eyes also had a more turquoise coloration to them.

What's more, bolts of electricity shot from his body, sparking and flashing dangerously, as if to show just how enraged he actually was.

Standing up, Bojack, with five newly formed puncture wounds in his side that were bleeding profusely over the burn mark, looked upon the boy with an expression of shock, "W-What is this?" His subordinates, who were also back on their feet and standing outside of the boy's blast radius, wore similar expressions of astonishment.

Attention fixing upon the tyrant, Gohan frowned, "I know your kind. You think you can just waltz in and take our planet." The boy, bathed in the glow of his Ascended Saiyan state, cracked his neck, took a deep breath and continued, "But this planet is not yours to take… nor is it for you to destroy… not while _I'm_ around. Earth is _our_ home!"

Bojack snarled, "We'll see about that." His eyes then cut across to his two subordinates. "Kill him."

Crouching low, a grinning Bujin then prepared to hurl his wires at the boy, only to suddenly see him vanish with a crack of wind. Blinking in shock, the turban wearing fighter then sensed someone behind him and spun around. The short fighter had just enough time to blink before he saw the boy thrust a kick straight up into his ribcage and sliced him in two. The moment Bujin was bifurcated, his two halves exploded into simultaneous clouds of bloody smoke, before the boy turned his attention to Zangya standing frozen on the other side of the crater.

Balking in horror, the orange haired woman took several steps back. After seeing the demi-Saiyan effortlessly kill Bujin with a single stroke, the young woman knew right then and there that she had absolutely no way of contesting with that kind of power. Hell, she didn't even see him move to attack Bujin in the first place.

First he was _there_ in the center and then, the next thing she knew, he was just gone.

Swallowing nervously, she took another step back.

The moment she did, without even blinking, Zangya suddenly saw the boy standing directly in front of her, covering the distance of fifty meters between them in a heartbeat. Yelping in shock, she fell over and hit the ground, where she then found herself staring up at the golden haired warrior with electricity dancing around him in fear.

Eyes shimmering and sweat pouring down her face, the young girl was immediately petrified.

"P-Please…" She whispered, edging away slowly while her body trembled with fright "I… I'm sorry…"

Continuing to glare down at her unflinchingly, the young Super Saiyan then became aware of a bright light shining in his face and glanced to his left, where he saw a massive ball of energy rocketing towards him and Zangya. Spotting the attack, the alien girl gasped in horror, but just when it seemed like it was going to engulf them both, the golden haired warrior jumped into its path and effortlessly backhanded the attack away, sending the sphere of green ki flying into the distance.

"Useless bitch!" Bojack bellowed, a wide grin stretching across his face as he cupped his hands at his side and began pouring energy into his palms. Then, springing high into the sky, the tyrant unleashed his second attack, "DIEEEEEEEEE!" With a thunderclap and an earsplitting howl, the man hurled an enormous blast of energy straight down at the pair, aiming to wipe both Gohan and Zangya off the face of the planet.

While the orange haired girl cried out in terror, Gohan remained standing in place, watching the sky in front of him turn a blinding green before the entire piece of land they were on went up in flames. The instant the attack collided with its target, it nuked the whole region, causing the entire island to shake and scaring the daylights out of every single person up in the stadium. After the fiery mushroom cloud dispersed and became replaced by an enormous plume of smoke, Bojack's grin widened, as if certain of his victory.

But then, the moment he saw the smoke lift, the demon's smugness vanished in a heartbeat when, in the center of the three kilometer wide crater, he saw Gohan standing atop an untouched slab of ground, with Zangya directly behind him. Despite taking the entire blast full in the face, not only was the boy's aura still fluctuating around him, but the demi-Saiyan was completely unfazed by the attack.

Gawking up at the back of the young warrior standing in front of her, the former subordinate of Bojack, still lying stricken on the ground, stared up at Gohan for a few seconds longer. Then, as the shock of all the events that'd happened finally caught up to her, the girl's eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed, fainting right there on the spot.

Landing back down on the ground, Bojack snarled. "I WILL KILL YOU!" With a mighty war cry, the demon charged across the field and shot towards the demi-Saiyan.

Gohan's frown deepened while sparks of electricity coursed around him angrily.

Drawing back his arm, Bojack gave a mighty howl as he prepared to bury the kid with a single punch. But then, just as he was halfway across the crater; his target suddenly vanished in a golden flash. The moment Gohan disappeared from sight, the giant alien stopped dead in his tracks when a sharp pain struck him in the stomach, followed immediately by a small fist exploding out his back, sending blood splattering across the ground.

Doubling over, the would-be conqueror of the universe let out several strangled gasps and choking sounds, as he quickly realized Gohan had impaled him with his arm. Shit. He didn't even see the kid move.

The demi-Saiyan on the other hand, remained completely calm and collected, like his sudden charge and punch didn't require a smidge of effort. With an unchanging expression and a balanced stance, Gohan removed his arm from his opponent's stomach and watched the demon stumble away, clutching the new, gaping hole in his abdominals.

Bojack, gasping and groaning in agony, managed to put a good amount of distance between him and his foe. After which, he snarled in rage, "Y-You little rat! A mere… child cannot defeat me! I am unbeatable!" Spitting up blood, the demon then brought his hands forward and began gathering energy. A green sphere of ki forming between his palms, the alien tyrant then pulled his arms apart and split the globe, forming two balls in either hand which began to grow and pulse. "Any last words before you die?!"

Sensing the man's ki begin to climb, Gohan's frown deepened, "Actually… Bojack." He then turned side on and cupped his hands behind him, "There _is_ one word that comes to mind." His aura expanding widthwise, a blue sphere of ki then formed between the Super Saiyan's palms, filling the entire area with a second blinding light.

Then, just as Bojack hurled his two energy spheres in the form of a single beam at his opponent, Gohan executed his with a bellowing yell.

"_**KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAAAAAAA!"**_ Throwing his hands forward, the demi-Saiyan unleashed a blast that completely overwhelmed his opponent's, enveloping the approaching attack in an instant before ripping on and engulfing Bojack.

When the demon was knocked off his feet by the enormous tidal wave of energy, the last thing the alien conqueror saw before he completely blacked out was Gohan flying towards him through his own attack. Like a samurai, the young Super Saiyan 2 cut straight through his opponent with his fist, stopping directly behind the demon long enough to hear Bojack's scream of agony before, finally, decisively, and not a moment too soon, Bojack vanished in a blazing flash of light.

Sliding along the disintegrating ground, the demi-Saiyan stopped in a runner's pose while his attack continued forwards, the beam shooting through the Battle Island's main wall before rocketing up into space, away from earth like some ethereal ray of light. Seconds later, the ridiculously powerful beam of energy faded, vanishing from both the vicinity and the sky with a series of thunderclaps.

Daylight fell upon the land shortly thereafter.

When the smoke cleared, the plume revealed an arena stricken with the scars of a war.

There were barely any buildings of the tournament's city left standing and while craters did indeed cover a large portion of the region, the biggest impression took the form of an enormous trench leading towards a massive hole in the side of the island that covered one quarter of the entire zone. This was all the sign that was needed for people to know that a massive battle had been fought there and the victor…

Well…

After rising back into a proper standing position in the center of the two mile wide trench that practically split the island in two, Gohan held his ground and stared ahead of him. His Super Saiyan 2 form fading away and his hair turning back to normal, the boy surveyed the area one last time for any signs of his opponent.

His mind picking up the still present ki signatures of Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, Mr. Satan, and even Zangya, all of whom were lying scattered across the field, unconscious, and nobody else, the boy knew that it was all over.

Job done, the full effects of his day-long struggle then brought a stupid grin and a half-lidded gaze to the young Saiyan's face. Moments later, the boy keeled over and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"I did it," Gohan groaned, before passing out and falling into a peaceful sleep.

A long desired silence returned to the island shortly thereafter.

OOO

(Otherworld)

After seeing his son collapse through the connection with his teacher, Goku breathed a sigh of relief and allowed a wide grin to cross his lips. "That's my son. I knew he could do it." Initially having readied himself to teleport down to earth to lend his son a hand and give him an extra push, the adult Saiyan was promptly stopped when he saw Gohan take care of it himself.

Watching the boy step up and gather all of the strength and courage he needed to finish the fight, brought a sense of pride to Goku's soul that would make even Vegeta smile.

Removing his hand from King Kai's shoulder, the Saiyan chuckled, "Man. It was a close one… but my boy pulled through."

The blue-skinned overseer of their part of space smiled back at his student, while Bubbles and Gregory pottered around behind them. "It appears you didn't need to go down there after all." Obviously, through the telepathic contact he had with his student, King Kai had been able to sense the man's intentions.

Luckily for him, no emergency action needed to be taken.

Goku chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in his characteristic manner, "Yeah. I guess so."

That meant the earth and its people were in good hands.

OOO

(The very next day)

(Satan City Hospital)

"_Mr. Satan saves world twice_," Krillin read out loud off of the newspaper in front of him. Scrunching his face at the picture of the man posing for the camera with X.S Cash's son giving the photographer a 'V' sign, the bald man then tossed the article aside, allowing him to see the sagely form of Master Roshi grinning back at him, as well as well the IV tube plugged into his arm. Revealing that he was lying in a hospital room, the short fighter glanced across to see not only Oolong, Chiaotzu and Puar present and visiting, but Gohan and Trunks lying in beds alongside him. "This guy makes front page while _we're_ in the hospital."

And by '_we_', he was also referring to Yamcha and Tien in the two beds on the other side of the room.

Nevertheless, in spite of being wrapped up like mummies, with both Trunks and Gohan having their arms in cast, and the former with his jaw bound and his leg strapped and elevated, all of them were in rather chipper moods. Yamcha especially, since the doctors had given him a heavy dosage of morphine that put a stupid smile on his face and kept him quiet.

Chuckling at Krillin's misery, Gohan beamed at his friend, ignoring the pain in his still aching jaw. "Heh. Say what you like, but if he hadn't crashed into Bojack and his goons, we might not even be here right now."

"I'll say," Tien chuckled, remembering how swiftly he'd been handed his defeat, resulting in a cracked shoulder, five broken ribs and a broken leg, plus some serious rug burn.

Oolong, hanging off of the end of Gohan's bed, chuckled in amusement, "Yeah, when it comes to freak accidents, Mr. Satan's a pro." This drew a hearty laugh from Chiaotzu, Trunks and Tien, a spurt that left one of them coughing from the grievous beating he'd received at the hands of the alien leader.

Shaking his head, Krillin smiled across at his friend, "How you feeling there, bud? Still got all your bits intact?"

Gohan grinned, "All of the important ones. How about you? Those guys didn't exactly play nice with us."

"Meh… the only thing that's really damaged is my pride," the former monk sighed while staring up towards the ceiling. "Didn't I say at the beginning of this ordeal that I'd see you guys in the infirmary? Ah, who am I to complain. There's no way I can ever keep up with you super-powered aliens from outer space."

"Don't sell yourself short. I think you held up pretty well," Trunks encouraged from his bed, at the same time giving the man a thumbs-up. Not that he could help it due to the way his cast had been set, he was giving a constant thumbs-up.

"You didn't even see me fight," Krillin snapped back, pouting a little bit in his misery and earning snickers from the people around him.

Yamcha, having managed to tap into the conversation earlier, then remembered something important and glanced across at their half-Saiyan hero. "By the way Gohan, whatever happened to that orange haired chick? You said you let her go, didn't you?"

Responding to the sudden question from his flank, the youngster nodded, "Yeah. When I went after her in Super Saiyan 2 she completely fell apart. I actually noticed her having second thoughts about being on Bojack's crew while I was fighting him, so I decided to give her a chance. Hopefully she won't cause us anymore problems."

Catching onto this, Master Roshi grinned, "You're Goku's son alright. Kind and gentle to a fault."

Exhaling, the young demi-Saiyan fixed his gaze on the ceiling and beamed, "I've still got a long way to go though. I may have learned from my mistakes against Cell… but I've still got a few more miles to cover before I can even consider being in dad's league."

His remark bringing a round of smiles and nods of approval from those around him, the group then heard a knock on the door and looked to see a nurse enter their midst. When she stepped in, she was quickly followed by Bulma carrying her baby son, Puar, Chi-Chi, and some girl the group had never met before.

They still weren't able to meet her, because for reasons unknown, she was hiding from view behind Chi-Chi. It was only until the group stopped beside Trunks and Gohan's bedsides did the Z-fighters see the newcomer step into the light. Wearing the same clothes as yesterday with her hair in pigtails, Videl peered around at the boy wrapped in bandages and smiled when she saw it was the right person.

Immediately spotting her, Gohan grinned, "Videl? What are you doing here?"

"Gohan!" Her exclamation drawing surprised glances from everyone, the girl quickly rushed to his side and looked him over. "A-Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah… just a little bit sore, that's all," the spiky haired demi-Saiyan chirped.

After taking in the sight of the bandages and patches covering him, Videl beamed in awe. "Wow. You must have gotten the stuffing kicked out of you. Who the heck were those guys? Were they as strong as Cell?"

The youngster, at first a little baffled by the sudden influx of questions, which raised a couple of questions of his own as to how Videl had managed to piece this stuff together, sprouted an amused yet pained expression and shrugged in response, "It's a bit of a long story."

Grinning, the raven haired girl quickly pulled up a chair, rested her arms on the bed and proceeded to lean against it right next to the bedridden Saiyan. "Well… I don't have to go home for a while, so I've got plenty of time to kill."

Appearing noticeably cheered up, Gohan was about to start a long conversation with the newcomer when he suddenly noticed all of his friends staring at him. Looking around the room, not only did he see the cheeky grins on Oolong and Krillin's faces, he also saw Tien and Yamcha share a glance, Trunks smile rather mischievously, Bulma snickering, and his mother standing there with a wide smile and a dreamy look on her face.

Even Videl noticed the playful looks they were receiving from the others in the room.

Eyes shifting from one face to the next, Gohan gulped, "Uhh… why are you guys staring at me like that?"

Then, in chorus, Krillin, Oolong, Master Roshi and Bulma began singing, "Gohan's got a girlfriend" over and over again teasingly, while Trunks quickly added a humming bass to the repertoire.

Hair standing on end like a startled cat, Gohan flushed a bright red before trying to hide his face underneath his bed covers. At the same time, Videl tried to cover her own shade of red by turning away and shifting on the spot in embarrassment.

"_This isn't going to stop anytime soon, is it?"_ Gohan thought in dismay.

And guess what… it didn't…

XXX

Meanwhile, outside the hospital, across the street and perched on top of the roof of a nearby building, the familiar, orange haired form of Zangya could be seen sitting there with her legs crossed and a forlorn look of curiosity etched into her face. Wearing a blue singlet top showing off her midriff, black pull-on sleeves, black figure-hugging biker pants, yellow boots and a purple scarf wrapped around her neck with a different set of jewels decorating her features, the woman had apparently done her very best to remove the old garb previously draping her lithe form.

Now that she was no longer a part of Bojack's group, as she'd been dismissed from his ranks the moment he tried to kill her, the girl had adopted a completely different look to her old one. And now that she'd taken on a new appearance, had no more bosses to answer to and no more outstanding goals in her life, the girl was free to do whatever she wanted.

Considering her circumstances, Zangya figured she would start her new life by staying in close sight of the very boy who'd decided to spare her in the first place.

"_Why?" _It was the one question currently lingering on in her mind and one that she really wanted to have answered. However, she figured she would get her answers soon enough and, with her chin resting against her arm, opted to remain where she was for the time being.

While she was sitting there, watching and admiring the very person who'd defeated her former master blushing and bumbling childishly around his friends through the window, a complete turnaround from the fierce warrior she'd faced in combat, she then became aware of a new presence on the scene. Disrupted from her meditation, the Hera-seijin girl glanced to her right to see a blonde haired woman with beautiful blue eyes, wearing tight jeans, a white shirt, black vest and gloves sitting there and looking in the same direction as her.

Sensing a set of eyes on her, Android 18# turned to see Zangya looking in her direction. After a moment of staring at each other, the former quickly returned to gazing through the window, allowing Zangya to do so as well.

While the two women shared that part of the balcony in comfortable silence, a little bit further behind them on the exact same roof around a large water tower, Piccolo and Vegeta were also present. One standing and the other one sitting, both men had their arms folded and their eyes fixed on the distant horizon, not really looking at anything yet still looking all the same.

As a gentle wind brushed by them, ruffling Piccolo's cape and blowing through Zangya and Eighteen's hair, the four personalities remained in the peaceful stillness of the moment, wondering what the not too distant future had in store for them next.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Damn, this was a long chapter. But I finally got through the Bojack Arc. And with a few changes made, it's time to move on to the next arc. I hope you're all going to enjoy the next post, hopefully soon.

Also, since it's really difficult to determine the exact power levels of characters and the ones Daiz released lost complete sense ever since the Namek Saga, I don't really care much for them.


	4. Changing Times

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Changing Times_

(One and a half months later)

Humming pleasantly to himself as he sat at his desk in his old room, Gohan continued to busy himself away with his studies. With a ceiling high shelf of textbooks stacked to his left and his computer sitting on his right, the young man had practically everything he needed for a few hours of successful cramming. After the harrowing events that'd taken place at the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ not too long ago, this had pretty much become standard procedure for him.

Ever since Bojack's attempted invasion of their planet the defenders of the earth had all decided to make some significant changes to their lifestyles.

For starters, Vegeta was now back in the game and hitting the gravity room harder than ever before… that is, whenever he wasn't looking after his son and filling in time that Bulma wanted him to take up while he was at home. Having pretty much recaptured his youth, the Saiyan Prince was now determined to reach the same level of control and ability that Gohan had achieved in his training, while at the same time not wanting the demi-Saiyan to get too far ahead in the combat department. He'd even managed to shanghai Mirai Trunks along for the ride who, after getting out of the hospital, had decided to stick around for a little while longer to hang out with his friends and family before returning to his own timeline.

Foregoing his planned rest period in the subcategories, Krillin had also decided to continue his training at Master Roshi's island. Every day the current Turtle Master would set some time aside to practice his move sets and polish up his fighting techniques, staying in peak physical shape while simultaneously becoming more emotionally and socially active. The man wanted to get out there to see as much of the new world as possible and to experience all of the things he'd missed out on in the past couple of years. Since they'd arrived at a time of secured peace and prosperity for all of mankind, he, along with Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu, the sole human members of the Z-Fighter squadron, had all decided to live it up as best as they could, now that they didn't have the threat of androids and aliens looming over their heads.

Of course, one couldn't be too careful.

Speaking of which, Yamcha, a long time supporter of the group, had decided to return to his old career path in baseball and practicality in the world, while Tien and Chiaotzu had disappeared into the north to continue their regular training regimens. This further went on to illustrate the level of commitment each and every one of them held toward their responsibilities and passions as fighters, which varied between each member of the team.

The same could be said for the non-fighters of the group. Korin and Yajirobe were up in their tower doing whatever it was they did best while watching over the planet from afar.

Dende, bright and dedicated as ever, was still learning the ropes of being guardian of earth and was taking frequent lessons under Mr. Popo, who was just glad to have a friend to serve once again. Master Roshi was being pedantic and laidback as usual, with Turtle and Oolong coming in a close second, and the Briefs family filled in their quota of the year by pushing the Capsule Corp. industry in a whole new direction of discovery and innovation.

In a few words, everyone across the board had their own parts to play.

Getting back to the heavy hitters, Piccolo never strayed too far from the regions surrounding Mount Paozu or Kami's Lookout. The man was always… around, in some way, shape or form. Sometimes you would often see him standing outside the Son family house under a tree or find him meditating beside the local waterfall not too far from them. This didn't bother Chi-Chi too much since she never really saw the Namekian warrior very frequently, but Gohan did, and it always made him smile whenever he noticed his friend watching over him.

And as for the young demi-Saiyan, things were going nicely for him.

Just like he planned, every morning and late afternoon Gohan spent his hours training away, juggling time between skill and technique molding and strength building. Every so often he would share a couple of sessions with Piccolo whenever his old teacher dropped by and when the green warrior wasn't coaching him in the first half of the day, the two of them would spar until they were both too tired to move. Gohan was even sure to push himself by not going Super Saiyan the entire match, making him work even harder. Though on one hand it made Piccolo happy to see the half-Saiyan trying so hard, at the same time it irked him somewhat since he thought his student was taking it easy on him. But Gohan had his reasons and the man understood them well enough to let these little foibles slide.

It was a given. The more the demi-Saiyan trained and strengthened his base level state the stronger his subsequent Super Saiyan transformations would become. But this didn't mean Gohan neglected training in his powered up states either, as the young warrior knew he needed to gain control over his Ascended Super Saiyan state, or what he liked to call Super Saiyan 2, above everything else.

In the past month, he'd actually managed to gain a certain level of directive over it. He did this by spending a whole week in that form, walking around with his hair blonde, elongated and defying gravity. It was cool at first and the youngster loved the feel of it, but his mother soon urged him to turn back to normal since not only did he appear a little scary, but he also had these sudden bursts of strength that just came out whenever he got too excited or carried away.

The most notable instance was when Gohan first opened the door when he was coming home after a morning session and inadvertently ripped it off of its hinges.

That was pretty much all he needed to know that his control skills at the second level needed a bit more fine tuning.

Outside of working his physical abilities into the ground and training to the point of complete and utter exhaustion of course, just like he promised, the demi-Saiyan also focused a lot of his time on his studies. After all his years of homeschooling under his mother's loving care and guidance, the boy had gotten so good at math, science, and all the other subtopics that he barely needed to apply a hundred percent effort into his learning process anymore. He wasn't even sure there was anything more for him to learn, _period_. As it stood, with only a quarter of his concentration, he could burn through textbooks like they were children's picture books. He'd memorized all of the most complicated mathematical theories to date, knew every single field and method by hard, and could solve complex equations in his head like he were adding and subtracting, as he'd been doing stuff like Calculus ever since the ripe old age of four.

Even when he'd been training under Piccolo's watch, he'd actually spent a lot of his free time recapping on his complex numbers and differential equations while resting in a cave.

General theory of relativity, nonlinear systems of equations, differential topology, geometry and manifolds, quantum mechanics, matrix algebra, quantum field theory, nuclear physics, vector calculus, advanced counting theory, chaos theory, unified field theory… you name it and there's a good chance Gohan has covered it at least five times.

Hell, while some people struggled with their times seven multiplications, Gohan could recite the entire quantum chromodynamic gauge-invariant Lagrangian in his sleep.

Really, by this point in time it was all just a practice in futility.

But if it made his mum happy, then Gohan wasn't complaining.

Anyhow, after having spent a couple of hours cramming some basic systems of algebra and quadratics into his head for the hundredth time in a row, the demi-Saiyan felt he'd spent enough time sitting down. So, marking his page, closing up his text book, and adjusting the orange top of his father's style gi, the youngster got up and headed into the kitchen to see if his mum needed anything. When he got there, he saw she was busy scaling some fish at the counter.

Beaming at how hard she was working, Gohan approached the young woman and stood alongside her expectantly. "Hi, mum. Do you need any help?"

"Oh, Gohan," Chi-Chi exclaimed in slight surprise, "I didn't hear you come in. Did you finish your studies for this morning?"

"Yep. I covered all six books like you asked and filled out all of the exam papers you gave me," the young Saiyan responded, beaming across at the hardworking mother.

"That's good. You seem to be going through those texts a lot faster than you usually do," the raven haired woman remarked while raising an eyebrow at her son, at the same time deboning the large fish on the counter. "You aren't cutting corners in your work, are you? Because if I come in there and see that you're purposefully skipping questions and slacking off…"

"No. Of course not," Gohan chuckled. "I went through all six books page by page, formula after formula. I'll be able to show you the papers afterwards if you like and you can have a look to see what I've done."

"Hmm…" Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow at the demi-Saiyan. However, after giving the boy a suspicious once over and upon staring into his disarmingly innocent smile, the Son mother shook off her distrust and gave the eleven-year-old a warm gaze. "Ah, I trust you. After seeing the amount of work you put into your education, I think it's about time I start taking it a little bit easier on you." She turned back to chopping up the fish. "Like your father said, too much work can turn your brain into mush."

"Thanks mum," the boy nodded, before checking out the pile of food standing alongside her. Giving it a considerate scan, he then pointed towards the stuff, "Would you like me to dice all of that up for you?"

A little bit surprised by his sudden question, Chi-Chi quickly glanced between her boy and the food he was pointing out. After three back-and-forths, she then brightened up and refocused her attention on the youngster, "Of course sweetie. If you like."

"Yeah." Cheerfully hopping over to the other side and washing his hands at the sink, the youngster then brought out a second clever from the drawer beneath them. After twirling it expertly in his grip and finding a suitable balance, he then grabbed a couple of Chinese cabbages, lined them up, and, without hesitation, began chopping them up into bite-sized pieces at record breaking speed.

All he did was push the whole cabbages across the board and sliced down on them with the blade.

Watching her son start cutting through the vegetables faster than the Energizer Bunny, and watching him separate the piles for extra measure, the Son mother smiled proudly and, not wishing to be outdone, returned to her work as well.

"_My son… I'm so proud of him,"_ Chi-Chi exclaimed, putting the fish pieces into a separate bowl and sparing a fond gaze towards her stomach, where she knew the growing life inside of her belly was sitting. _"You're going to have a wonderful older brother waiting for you when you come out…"_

His mother's distant expression as well as her hand wrapping around her stomach area gave Gohan a moment of worried pause, "M-Mum? Are you okay?" He saw the woman glance up at him. "You're not feeling sick are you?"

"Oh no. No dear. It's nothing. I was just spacing out," Chi-Chi replied quickly and threw the young man a pleasant smile. Obviously, she had yet to tell Gohan about the fact that she was pregnant. It'd been two months already, but there hadn't been many changes to her body that would warrant the young demi-Saiyan's notice, even with his superhuman senses.

This just showed how much like his father Gohan actually was, bless his heart.

Smiling brightly, the Son mother regarded her son considerately for a few moments. "I'm just thinking about how much of a fine young man you're turning into." Her eyes then sparkled as she met Gohan's gaze with her own, "I know that no matter what obstacles you may come across and no matter what challenges you may face, you will lead a rich, full life, filled with happiness and love, and that you'll make whoever you end up with feel like the most important person in the world to you."

Blinking at this, Gohan smiled, "Thanks mum."

Slowly returning to their work, a cheerfully humming Chi-Chi went through a couple more fish before inevitably asking the one question that'd been standing out in her mind. "By the way, Gohan… have you been keeping in touch with Videl?" Her question startling the young man from his task, the mother looked across at him curiously. "You haven't visited the city for a while and she hasn't come over to visit us yet. In fact, I don't think you've said anything about her the entire month… so I'm just curious. Are you two still friends?" Clearly, she was more concerned about whether or not the two of them were together in the fundamental sense as opposed to the common term, even if she may have been getting a little bit ahead of herself.

Shaking off the surprise, Gohan nodded his head vigorously, "Of course we are, mum. I keep in touch with her everyday over the computer. She says she's doing really well in the city, and that she would like to come over and visit us sometime." What he really wanted to say was 'visit him'. To be honest, he was hoping he would be able to stop by and visit her as well.

Videl was a really great person to talk to and he really enjoyed the many times he'd been able to spend with her. Chief among which was when he finally got out of the hospital and he was able to go explore the town with her. However, since they lived so far away from each other and because they both had responsibilities to keep with their families, such as schooling and training, it meant that the only way they'd effectively been able to stay in contact with one another was via the internet.

The two were happy nonetheless, but they still kept trying to find times where they were both free to drop by and see one another.

This information brought a wide grin to Chi-Chi's face, before she languidly went back to cutting up the salmon, "Well, as long as things are going well between you two, then I have nothing to worry about. Be sure to try and invite her over for lunch some time. It would be nice to have somebody new around the house… especially one of my boy's girl friends."

Now, while she really meant to say 'a girl who was a friend of her son's', the way she'd said it inadvertently brought a flash of red to the boy's face and had Gohan round on his mother with distress. "M-Mum!"

"What?" Chi-Chi looked back at him in surprise. After taking note of the startled look of embarrassment on his face, the mother soon realized what she must have said and smiled deviously. "Oh, I'm sorry Gohan, dear. I didn't know you two were already boyfriend and girlfriend."

"MUM!"

Damn it. Why did she have to go there?

While the boy blushed and babbled on nonsensically under the delightful gaze of his mother, the young demi-Saiyan was completely unaware of the set of eyes watching him through the window.

Atop the nearby hill underneath a tall oak tree, the orange haired form of Zangya could be seen standing there, leaning against the trunk with her arms folded and eyes set on the building down below.

At first having been observing the boy while he'd been studying, the former alien invader then saw him abandon the confines of his desk and head into the kitchen to help his mother out with her housework. It was a routine she'd adopted for a while now, as ever since the scuffle on the island over a month ago, the alien woman had been keeping close tabs on the young warrior, taking her time to watch him, analyze him, and getting a feel for what he did in his off hours.

She had to admit, it'd been incredibly entertaining observing his interactions with his family members and awe-inspiring watching his training sessions every morning and late afternoon. The entire experience gave Zangya a big idea of what life was like for this timid little warrior and what made him such a force to be reckoned with in the first place.

Oh sure, the young Hera wasn't exactly a friend of the demi-Saiyan's or an ally of his by any stretch of the word, but she sure as hell wasn't an enemy of his either. And even though she didn't hold any deep-seated animosity towards the people who'd killed Bojack and her teammates, but was in fact relieved to have been liberated from that power-hungry demon's command, Zangya was also smart enough not to start anymore fights with these people.

She actually frowned upon the idea of fighting against them, knowing what consequences awaited her if she did, and simply resigned herself to sitting on the sidelines and looking on from afar for the time being.

After watching Gohan for several weeks now, the young alien girl couldn't help but shake her head at his everyday antics and smile.

"_Hard to believe that he's one of the strongest beings in this universe,"_ Zangya thought, continuing to look upon him with interest and tilting her head when she saw him return to cutting up the vegetables.

As interactions slowly returned to normal within the Son household and the events of before calmed down slightly, the former alien gangster couldn't help but wonder to herself whether or not she should show her face to the young warrior and ask him the question that'd been plaguing her mind ever since the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_. By this point, it'd really been grating on her patience and, after days of nothing but silence, she was starting to feel a little bit antsy just waiting around for an opportunity to approach.

"_Hmph… maybe I can pester him the next time he goes out to do some training,"_ the young Hera considered.

That is… if she didn't lose her nerve stepping out from behind this tree of course…

OOO

(Sometime later - Elsewhere)

Across the plains of Mount Paozu, floating peacefully beside a large waterfall, the familiar form of Piccolo had decided to fill in his free time with some much needed meditation. With his arms and legs crossed and his cape bellowing gently on a breeze, the Namekian warrior suspended himself quietly, while the sounds of nature echoed all around him.

He made sure to compress his hearing solely to this one spot, as any form of outside noise would upset the state of emotional symmetry he'd been able to achieve. Even though the cry of his student could be heard for miles around due to a possibly embarrassing comment by his mother, Piccolo paid it little mind and allowed time to pass by as normally after that moment. The little foibles and everyday shenanigans of Gohan's social and home life didn't concern him so much, since he knew the boy could cope with it.

'Shake it off' he would always say to the demi-Saiyan. It was a fine combination of words he hoped would stick with the youngster for many years to come.

So far, it'd proven fruitful, as was the hours he'd already spent out here.

"Ah… now this is relaxing," the former guardian of the earth thought, a small smile pulling across his lips. "I haven't had such a peaceful meditation in a _long_ time." After all the things that'd happened with the androids, Cell and Bojack, the earth was due for a long period of downtime. Hopefully the days would stay like this and the world would be able to keep on turning.

But then, just when Piccolo was settling in for another bout of silent contemplation, the Namekian's eyes suddenly shot open and he spun around. Disengaging from his seated position, the green skinned warrior fixed his gaze upon the sky, where he sensed an incredibly powerful force heading their way.

"_W-What is that?"_ Piccolo thought, unable to comprehend what the hell he was feeling.

It was an alien presence. That much was certain. However, unlike the times he was able to pick up the approaching meteorite that was Lord Slug's craft or Frieza's saucer, this one was somehow different.

It was like he could feel the sun approaching them…

XXX

High above the planet's surface in the empty vacuum of space just a few clicks off of the moon's orbital path, a vessel of unknown origin and make suddenly broke into earth's reach. Oval in shape and looking as though it'd been assembled together from specially crafted plates, not only was it sleek in design and silver in color, it also had a series of orange lights running up and down the channels on its outer hull. Flying into view propelled by three thrusters on its back, the spacecraft shot past the moon's current position before suddenly beginning to slow on its final approach of the planet.

Upon arriving into satellite distance of the earth, the ship's velocity continued to reduce until, in just a few short seconds, it came to a perfect stop. Once suspended in view of the cities dotting the continents and islands far below, the ship remained hovering in place for several minutes, motionless and drifting through the cold expanse of nothing. The flickering lights along its shell making several beeping noises as they flashed more erratically, the craft from another world seemed to just float there, eyeing the planet like it were some kind of wounded prey before, without warning, something started to happen.

The front of the craft emitted several small bursts of hot steam before the plates broke apart and separated, like it was disassembling itself. The sections fanned out like they were still attached to the craft, even though they weren't, and held their positions around the tip. When the compartment opened, it revealed a tiny, sphere-shaped pod contained inside the nose of the craft. But that wasn't the only part to open up.

A plate from the side also detached too. However, instead of exposing another separate portion of the vessel, it revealed an open space with several other kinds of flashing lights. More steam escaped the vents and the ship started to hum loudly again. As the sound of engines revving grew in volume, a speck orbiting the planet in the distance started to drift towards the main craft. When it came into view, it revealed itself to be a highly advanced Capsule Corp. satellite that eventually got drawn into range of the much larger vessel. Once in close, it got sucked into the side compartment, becoming attached to the foreign machine.

More beeping and more steam shot off of the vessel after the satellite plugged into the alien craft like a USB. After several seconds, the open compartment at the very front of the ship emitted a bright orange light, which shot towards the very polar north of the earth. As soon as the light reached the top of the planet, it began to expand and scan the whole sphere.

The beam of light stretched over the earth and ran down all the way to the southern pole, a process which took a whole of a minute. Once it was done scanning the planet, the light switched off and the vessel gave another loud hum.

XXX

(On Earth)

In the astronomy department of the West City industrial super giant known as Capsule Corp, the original founder of the business and former head of the empire Doctor Briefs could be seen looking through the facility's primary telescope. Murmuring to himself as he gazed into the main optics fixed upon the skies above like a massive, planetary gun, the man with the bushy mustache, square rimmed glasses, lab coat, and little black cat sitting perched on his shoulder, gave a contemplative grunt as he adjusted the sights.

"Hmm… yes… this is vexing," the scientist remarked out loud. His cat meowed in response, earning a nod from the man. "I know… but where in the world did it come from?"

While the man busied himself with trying to solve their current problem, he was then interrupted from his investigation by a clearing of a person's throat. Looking towards the walkway circling the interior of the dome-shaped building, Doctor Briefs spotted his daughter, dressed in regular work clothes and a lab coat of her own, gazing down at him from above.

She wasn't alone either, as she was also accompanied by a concerned Vegeta and Mirai Trunks, both of whom were staring out through the telescope dome's main hatch towards the sky.

"So what's the scoop, dad?" Bulma asked, her expression stone cold serious mixed with a tint of nervousness, "Can you make out what it is?"

The man with the unlit cigarette in his mouth nodded, "Your man was right on the mark when he said he sensed something troublesome heading our way."

"Well… what is it?" the daughter persisted, anxious to find out what it was her dad had spotted.

Reaching over to type into his computer, the man brought up the image his telescope was able to capture onto the projector. The specially designed hologram lit up and relayed to the audience an image of the ship in question, which immediately had Vegeta and Trunks's gazes snap towards it. Befuddled by the sight of it at first, everyone on the walkway was soon locked in a glaring match with the unusual object, a ship that was obviously not from _their_ galaxy.

"The extra terrestrial vehicle is a class three. It's a small craft… smaller than a jumbo jet but much larger than a fighter bomber; big enough to transport a couple of people. The lights you see blinking along its hull are what I suspect to be power conduits and sensors, while the gaps between the plates act as vents that eject excess energy and heat. The outer shell and armor seem to be held together by some sort of magnetic energy, able to detach and reattach at a moment's notice. It's what I was able to gauge from my few minutes of observation," Doctor Briefs said, turning away from the projection to continue watching the vessel through the telescope. "It was on fast approach of the planet until a few minutes ago, and it's now positioned itself in geostationary orbit above the earth, just out of effective range of our big missiles."

As the old man adjusted the focus, Mirai Trunks's brow tightened into a frown, "So… what's the deal with this thing? What's it doing?" He saw that the shape it had assumed wasn't its original shape. The very tip of the vessel had opened up and revealed some sort of device that was now pointing down at the planet.

"The computers picked up a strange electromagnetic anomaly that pierced the earth's atmosphere and ran all the way down from the north to the south, which only lasted shy of about sixty seconds before it dispersed," Doctor Briefs stated, glancing up at the time traveling warrior and his family to see them all still staring at the ship. "My guess is that the vessel was scanning us."

"Scanning us?" Bulma parroted, "The entire planet?"

"Yes," Doctor Briefs said, taking a red laser pointer and flashing it at the hologram, where the dot suspended itself around the ship's edge. "Just before the energy reading occurred, a section on the starboard side of the vessel also opened up and sucked in one of our satellites. The orbiter was tractor beamed aboard the UFO and forcibly plugged into their system."

Confounded by this new information, Bulma looked down at her watch and began typing into the keys. A computer image popping up, showing the various positions of satellites orbiting the planet, the blue haired woman balked when she took stock of their equipment. "That was the Type 29 we sent up there a few weeks ago; our latest model." She then looked across at Trunks and Vegeta, the former of which was now looking at her. "It was designed to boost information and communications channels by acting as a conduit for all of the planet's internet activity; that includes all local media and military transmissions."

Trunks was immediately troubled by this news, "Does that mean the ship will be able to access all of the planet's information through that thing?"

"If it has the right hardware and a big enough power source, yes," Bulma replied, shutting off her watch and turning back to the projector. "Considering that thing's alien, I'll bet my money that it's processing all of that information right now."

"Can you shut it off somehow and prevent that ship from accessing the satellite?" Trunks asked, hoping that the world's greatest scientific mind would be able to figure a way out of this and safeguard their planet's history and data.

Bulma gave a disgruntled look, "Not unless you can type over a million lines of code in the next five minutes." Even for someone like her that was a bit of a stretch, despite how lightning fast she was at the computer. It would take somebody with superhuman speed and _her_ brain to actually pull it off. "It takes a long time to completely kill the system. But even if I was able to shut off all of our satellites in orbit it wouldn't help. That thing finished downloading over a third of the planet's information the moment the two craft became connected… and I'm not going to put it past the guy who's probably traveled over a million light years to get here just to give up on the first shot."

Frowning, the man turned to look up at the sky, where he could still sense the strange energy source coming off of the craft. "What do you suppose they want?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, I know it's going to be bad news…"

Vegeta, having remained silent throughout the entire duration of their discussion as he stared up at the strange ship, suddenly squinted at the image, as if trying to decipher a Rubik's cube by hard. After a few seconds of closer analysis, his eyes then widened in shock, "Wait… I recognize that vessel."

Bulma and Trunks quickly turned to the man, where they saw the look of abject disbelief on his face.

"W-What is it Vegeta?" Bulma asked, giving the man a few confused blinks when she then saw him begin to shake.

Vegeta swallowed, "It can't be…"

Clenching his jaw, the Prince of all Saiyans then spun around and looked up towards the sky. Eyes wavering and sweat starting to break out, he then wordlessly powered up and took off out of the dome through the gap. His sudden vacating of the facility prompted Trunks to follow after him and Bulma to give a concerned look.

"Hm… I wonder what's gotten under his feathers," Doctor Briefs wondered out loud, glancing down at the little cat still lying over his shoulder. "What do you think, Kitty?"

The little feline gave a cute meow.

This subsequently brought an understanding head nod from the founder of the company. "You may be right. Hemorrhoids do seem to be the most logical explanation…"

XXX

After a few minutes of hovering there in dead silence, suspended above the earth and watching all of the commotion going on down below, the ship once again started to stir.

However, instead of more panels opening up, the ship's open nose exuded a few more bursts of hot steam. Upon which, the small pod that could be seen sitting inside it retracted and disappeared into the hatch. It was shortly replaced by another pod with a similar shell and plate design as the main vessel, with gaps and channels in between each panel that glowed orange. Once it'd been moved into position and placed in the opening of the vessel, it was then ejected from the ship and sent rocketing down toward the planet's surface.

The speed at which it traveled down to the surface was ridiculous.

As to its destination…

XXX

(Central City)

In the very heart of the mega city that served as the capital of planet earth, there stood the eloquent, multi-rimmed tower representing the forefront of the main parliament building known as King Castle. Sturdy, tall, and majestic, reflecting all of the attributes of royalty and leadership, it was this very place that the leader of all the nations of the continent and most if not the entirety of the world, oversaw all the affairs of his countries and its people. By extension, it also served as his home and a symbol of peace and prosperity in their world.

Beyond the walls surrounding the castle, through the bustling courtyard filled with tourists and armed guards, and between the many other towers making up the castle, the main building stood proud above all. It was in the main office of this very construct, a few floors above ground and with an impressive balcony sticking out over the central quad, the King could be found hard at work.

Sitting at his desk in his trim suit and perusing through his paperwork, an anthropomorphic blue dog with a large mustache and glasses breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he finished reading through a long report. Closing the file up and setting it aside, the man then set the pen he'd used on the rack in front of him and leaned back in his chair.

At that exact moment, the door to his office burst open. The guards standing on station drew their weapons instinctively, only to retract them when they saw the King's adjutant come jogging into their midst and up to the presidential desk. The frazzled man, a young male with spiky red hair and wearing a brown military uniform with the rank of Private First Class on his jacket, skidded to a stop a few feet away from the leader's table.

The high-standing ruler was quick to acknowledge the boy's presence as well as his salute of greeting, "Yes?"

"Sorry for disturbing you, Koku-sama, but I was told by the head officers down stairs that they received an urgent telegram from one of our air bases to the West and ordered me to deliver it to you immediately."

"Well then, read it out," the King replied, sensing the urgency in the man's voice.

The Private swallowed uncomfortably while looking down at the paper, "Commander Nishi reports that a small craft… a UFO of some kind, has appeared out of nowhere and positioned itself in high orbit above our planet, and is currently holding over the western part of the continent."

"A UFO? In orbit?" King Koku murmured, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Whenever he received news of an unidentified flying object or a blip on their radar that his men considered abnormal, it always spelt trouble for him and the rest of the planet. He'd been getting a lot of those in the past several years and by this time he'd stopped being surprised. "How long has it been since it appeared?"

"The radio telescopes picked it up about half an hour ago, sire," the messenger answered. "The staff running the station didn't report it immediately because they initially believed it was a satellite that had strayed off course."

"Has there been any activity surrounding the craft that we should be concerned about? Positional changes? Attack formations? Deployment of weaponry?"

"N-No sire," the soldier responded, standing stock straight while the King gave him a deeply inquisitive look. "The ship is just… sitting there. It hasn't done anything other than open a hatch at the nose end."

Raising an eyebrow, the earth's leader remained sitting in place, twiddling his thumbs nervously and murmuring to himself. After meditating on it for several moments, he then gave a nod of acknowledgement and pointed across at the runner. "Get me General Rin. Tell him to-" Unfortunately he wasn't able to finish relaying his instructions.

Without even the slightest bit of warning, the ceiling of the King's office where the chandelier hung proudly from its fixture suddenly caved in with an ear-splitting 'bang', an event that not only knocked the messenger off his feet but caused the entire building to shake. Koku and his guards, instantly stunned by the unforeseen explosion, had their visions blocked out by a thick wall of smoke and dust, which choked up the air and filled every corner of the chamber. Coughing and waving the cloud of fumes out of their faces, the nation leader and his stricken attendants peered back towards the center of the room to see what the hell had just happened.

Almost all of them, especially the king, did a hilarious double take when they noticed a large metal sphere with glowing, symmetrical orange lines patterning its surface hovering directly in the center of the office. Having obviously been the cause for the sudden cave in, the perfectly round pod had stationed itself above the floor and was emitting a very eerie, radioactive like glow and a very distinct humming noise.

In the first few seconds of staring at the intruder, King Koku was able to determine two things about it.

One, it definitely wasn't something from this planet. Two, it certainly didn't come here for a cup of tea.

Gulping at the sight of the celestial orb, the King then watched as the gaps along its hull emitted sharp bursts of steam. Then, just when he thought his day couldn't get any stranger, the entire ball opened up at the front in an origami like manner. The entire outer surface of the ball unwrapped itself and retracted when, stepping out from the confines of the floating pod, a shapely leg appeared followed by what Koku immediately recognized was a woman.

Not just any woman though. The person that emerged from the pod was a beautiful, radiant girl around sixteen years old with human skin coloration, a curvaceous figure, and wearing a highly sophisticated, very pronounced figure-hugging plug suit. Silver and white, with grey components and outlets sticking out of it, it was a sleek costume with small gaps and channels between the plates that glowed orange like her ship, and had shimmering blue nodes on certain parts of the limbs and torso. Completely symmetrical, the design was absolutely beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time.

But aside from the visitor's cute face, sharp blue eyes and serious expression, the most defining trait of the woman was her hair. She had long, flaming orange hair with a third of it that would have been touching the floor were it not already waving in the air as a singular mass behind her. If she wanted too, the girl could easily blanket all of it around her lithe body. What's more, it was also shining a luminous radioactive-like orange and seemed to waft on the air like a flame, literally defying gravity.

The pod that had used to transport her vanished into her back as a mere component of her suit, bringing realization to those present in the room that the girl _was_ in fact the sphere.

Completely awestruck by his unexpected visitor, King Koku looked up through the hole in his ceiling, where he saw that the ball had crashed through all thirty levels of the building before coming to a stop directly inside his office. It was a sight that had the man gulp and look ahead of him once again to see the woman taking in her surroundings. Upon which she then focused her gaze onto him and began striding forward.

Elegantly traipsing across the floor, the alien girl came to a slow halt on the other side of the King's desk, at about the same time to the doors to the office burst open and dozens of soldiers began pouring in. The heavily armed guards encircled the woman and cocked their weapons, pointing them at her as she stared their anxious leader down.

After several moments of unnerving silence and with an unflinching stare, the woman began to speak, "Excuse me, but are you the current ruler of this planet; the keeper of the peace, King of Nations, and the one who is recognized as the most powerful man on earth, King Koku?"

Snapping out of his daze, Koku frowned uncomfortably, "Y-Yes. That's me?"

"And are you the chief warden tasked with safeguarding the lives of all of the people underneath your banner, protector of the world's lands, animals and resources from the northern point of Gaia to the south?" the young woman continued in her cool and collected tone of voice. Her questions almost seemed casual in nature, like the fact that she'd just busted into the king's chambers to speak with him meant nothing to her.

Baffled, the man glanced around at his guards, whom he could see had all of their rifles trained onto her, before slowly looking back at the inquisitive alien girl. "Yes… I guess."

This answer brought a small smile to the woman, who then placed a hand over her chest and bowed, an action that baffled the soldiers. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. My name is Kana; I am a part-time privateer and freelancer for the Planet Trade Organization of the Four Quadrants of Space. I have journeyed far from the core systems of the universe seeking a world that has been completely terraformed to suit a variety of flora and fauna. I must say… you have a very beautiful planet, King Koku; one that is both rich and overflowing with life."

Not really sure where this was going, King Koku nevertheless nodded, "Th-Thank you. That's very kind of you to say."

Straightening up, the woman now identified as Kana brought her hand back down and beamed brightly at the nation ruler, "This earth is a very rare gem, unlike any other planet I have ever encountered before. If it isn't too much trouble, I would very much like to begin negotiations as soon as possible."

"Uhh… negotiations?"

"Surely as this planet's ruler you are willing to partake in a spirited discussion," the woman said with a hopeful voice. "I know that this is a bit forward of me, but as much as I would love to have a guided tour of your world, I'm unfortunately on a very tight schedule. I have another business transaction with the Brench of Sector 15 tomorrow morning and I do not wish to be late."

King Koku, hesitant at first and picking up a sense of foreboding hanging in the air, gave a very nervous murmur before, after much consideration, conceded to the girl's pleasant approach. With a wave of his hand, he ordered his soldiers to lower their weapons, which they slowly and cautiously did. "Very well. I see no harm in having a friendly chat. Would you like it if the negotiations took place in here?" He was completely willing to overlook the massive hole in the ceiling.

The workers could clean that up afterwards.

Blinking a few times, Kana looked around the office a second time before glancing back. She appeared slightly puzzled, "You don't think that this room is a little too small for our needs?"

The King smiled, "Do not worry. I have held many meetings in this room over the course of my tenure as leader. Various treaties between nations and individuals of high standing have been brought to this table and discussed. Considering its history and significance, I am sure that this chamber will be adequate for our needs."

"You must be an incredibly persuasive person then," Kana remarked, a smile forming on her lips. "Very well. If you believe that this is all the space that we shall require, then I will accept this as our decided battle ground."

It was this response that had Koku recoil slightly. "Uhh… battle-what?"

Unable to get an answer in time, he suddenly saw the woman raise a clenched fist like she was holding something, before she casually opened it and revealed a marble sized sphere of golden energy hovering above her palm. As soon as her fingers uncurled, Kana fired it at the man. King Koku only had time to let out a startled cry before he was smashed in the chest by the attack and sent flying out of the office window behind him, over the balcony and into the courtyard two stories below. The man then landed in the pool of the palace's central fountain with a big splash, startling the dozens of civilians on tour of the residence.

The soldiers, thunderstruck by the sudden attack of their King, loaded their weapons, raised them and opened fire on their planet's visitor. Rifles and machine guns opened up on the stationary woman with a hail of bullets, all of which threatened to tear her to pieces from all sides. However, just as they were firing at the woman, the King's guard watched on in shock as their bullets slowed in midflight and stopped just two feet from their target, who didn't even flinch at the barrage.

When the gunfire ceased, the hundreds of bullets suspended in the air around the girl then dropped to the ground, scattering like pellets. It was then the fiery haired woman glanced around at the guards, causing them all to gasp and take several steps back.

"Are you challenging me?" Kana asked in the same, cool tone of voice as before.

Unwilling to fight a woman who literally just stopped all of their best shots, the soldiers dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

The moment they did so, the fiery haired girl suddenly levitated herself into the air, floated over the desk and out over the balcony. Looking down from her elevated position, she saw the crowd of people down below gathering around the fountain, where the King emerged on the edge coughing and sputtering. He was quickly surrounded by soldiers who, upon spotting the woman hovering overhead, opened fire on her as well.

Just like in the office, the bullets either missed or stopped in mid flight just feet from their target, before falling to the ground uselessly. After suspending herself in place and watching the guards balk in horror, Kana floated down and landed just a couple meters from the fountain's edge.

The people immediately took a step back from where she landed.

When she approached the pond's edge where King Koku was busy trying to pick himself up and clear his lungs, a couple of the surrounding soldiers bravely stepped forward and held their guns at the invader. As soon as Kana came within a few of feet of them though, the pair of guards were suddenly lifted off of the ground by an invisible force and gently moved out of the way, an anti-gravity event that surprised the hell out of them before they were unceremoniously dropped onto their asses.

Kana stopped before the winded and thoroughly waterlogged king, looking down at him curiously while he looked back up with an entire front portion of his clothes completely burned away. "That attack was child's play. Are you sure you're the most powerful man on the face of this planet?"

"Eh?" the King replied intelligently, gazing up at the star child who merely tilted her head in his direction. "W-What do you mean by that?"

Kana frowned, "I'm supposed to be negotiating with the sole guardian and protector of this world for the right to ownership over it, so that if I emerge victorious I may compartmentalize it and sell it to the interplanetary market for preservation. I do not believe that such a beautiful planet would be occupied by so many people without having a representative who is strong enough to negotiate for them."

Oh. So when she meant 'negotiations', she really meant a battle of physical strength between two parties, the victor of which would emerge with the planet as their prize. King Koku quickly figured this out in the next few seconds as the woman stared down at him and quickly reconsidered his options. After all, he knew how these kinds of games were played across the board. It wasn't just a way of finding a middle ground between two opposing forces; it was also a primary function of war as well as a manner of sport. This visitor from another planet viewed it as a kind of bartering system in her trade, one in which she was probably a master of. To this person, the act of battling for a right to possession and tenure was a business.

After seeing his guards get pretty much backhanded out of the way without so much as a struggle from their target, he knew that this woman Kana was an opponent that neither one of his normal warriors would be able to overcome.

However…

"I am merely the political leader of this planet; the one that stands as the voice for the people and guides them along the path to peace and prosperity without the need for military might," King Koku replied groggily, at the same time facing the woman as confidently as he could. "As such, I am not this planet's guardian nor am I its strongest warrior."

"You're not?" Kana recoiled a bit, staring down at the man for a moment before then noticing the stunned looks of the people around her. Considering her situation carefully, she then looked down at her hand and allowed the node on her palm to produce a hologram, which began cycling through several pages of information. Scrolling through it at high speed, the once cool young lady then widened her eyes, blushed and rubbed her head in embarrassment in a surprising break in character. "Oh… whoopsie. I think I may have cocked up a little. The administration hierarchy on this planet is a little bit different from the others I've visited in the past. My bad." Acknowledging her little foible with a nervous laugh, she then deactivated the hologram and focused back down on the king. "Do you think you could point me in the direction of the earth's strongest warrior so that he may negotiate with me on your behalf?"

The King raised an eyebrow, "You wish for me to present a champion?"

Kana nodded, "If you could."

Thinking on it for a few seconds, the man quickly came up with a name. It was someone he knew all too well and someone he believed would be able to combat such an outrageous opponent, "If you're looking for this planet's strongest warrior, then look for a man named Goku."

"Goku?" Kana parroted, opening up her palm again and cycling through the orange hologram at speed. Producing a series of profile pictures, she then held them up towards the king and flicked through them, allowing him to identify which 'Goku' on the earth's registry he was referring to.

After going through a few faces, the man's eyes widened when he saw the man's face appear and he pointed, "Th-That's him."

Looking down at the image and expanding the person's profile, Kana scanned through the information for a moment before looking back down at the King. "Obituary records state that Son Goku passed away over two months ago due to a debilitating heart virus."

Appearing stunned, the nation leader looked down hesitantly, his expression showcasing a sense of mild disbelief. If it was true that Son Goku was gone, then he had no idea who else to turn to. As far as he was concerned, the young man who'd fought and defeated the mighty King Piccolo had been his one and only shot at combating and defeating this visitor from outer space.

However, the people around him had something else to say.

"You want the name of the strongest man in the world?" an adult male from the crowd shouted, drawing everyone's attention, namely Kana's, in his direction. "His name is Hercule Satan! There is not a person alive on this planet stronger than him!"

While the King looked stunned at the civilian's claim, Kana blinked as she processed this new name that'd been given to her. "Hercule Satan?"

"Yeah! He's the world's greatest champion and our savior!" the man continued.

The woman beside him nodded her head vigorously, "That's right!"

"He saved our world from the monster Cell and the aliens who invaded our planet during the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_! If it wasn't for him, none of us would be alive right now!" another man from the crowd shouted, rousing a loud clamor and cheer from the people around her.

"Yeah! Mr. Satan is the strongest!"

"He will gladly fight you!"

Hearing a chant of 'Mr. Satan' start up, Kana narrowed her eyes and turned back to her hologram. Swiftly processing the name in her computer, the woman's hologram flashed through several more pages before finding a series of pictures. Beaming them up for everyone in the square to see, the alien visitor raised an eyebrow when she saw a large man with a mustache and an afro posing heroically before the camera. Moving through several more photos, she found clips of people gazing admiringly up at the man standing high up on the balcony, almost like he was their messiah.

Immediately sold from the images alone, Kana smiled excitedly and shut off the hologram. "It seems that I've found your planet's champion. I'm sure our negotiations will be long and fruitful." With a nod of acknowledgement, the fiery haired alien bowed to the planet's leader as he lay staring up at her from the fountain. "I'm deeply sorry for disturbing you, King Koku, and I apologize unreservedly for any unwarranted stress and inconveniences I may have caused you and your people." She then took a step back and nodded politely, "It has been a real pleasure. Farewell." With that, the warrior then tucked herself up into a ball above the ground and became incased in the same metal sphere once again, which sprouted from her like a sheet.

Upon taking the form of the pod, the vessel hummed loudly for a few moments before, without any need for sophisticated preparation, shot up into the sky with a sonic boom, going from zero to holy-shit-satellite-orbit in under five seconds.

Once everyone saw the vessel vanish into the clouds above, the people, soldiers and the king spent the next minutes staring at the sky in shock. When they eventually shook themselves out of their stunned reveries a full two minutes later, the guards quickly went about helping the poor king out of the fountain, while at the same time moving to clean up the mess caused by their extraterrestrial visitor.

XXX

The pod ascended back into space, once again falling into satellite orbit of the planet. Not even bothering to return to the mother ship, the sphere that was the interplanetary traveler Kana then spent the next few moments hovering there in solitude, safely above the earth's surface.

She remained there for an upward of several seconds. Reason being was that she needed to access the planet's Global Positioning System in order to find the address of this great Hercule Satan, also known as humanity's champion. After looking up the man's exploits on her return flight into space as well as reading into this Cell business that'd taken place over two months ago, the woman knew right away she was in for a very spirited discussion with the man.

This Cell person had been able to move at blinding speeds, wipe out an entire army without effort and destroy a mountain with a single blast, and Hercule Satan was able to defeat this tyrant with a single blow, or so the reports stated. If that were the case, then Kana knew she was bound to have one amazing fight.

So, upon locating Hercule's domain, the pod immediately course corrected and shot back down towards the planet, heading in the direction of the eastern part of the continent where Satan City was located.

Wow. The man even had a city named after him. If someone was able to have an entire metropolis christened after them in honor of their accomplishments, then this man had to be an amazing warrior.

XXX

(Meanwhile – Satan Manor)

"Wow. So you guys actually fought against the same guy that destroyed your home planet all those years ago?" Videl chirped, at the same time smiling at the image of Gohan she could see beaming back at her on the laptop. "That must have been one hell of a battle."

"Oh yeah. No joke. It was absolutely terrifying," the young demi-Saiyan replied, his voice coming through loud and clear over the speakers as he tried his best to recount his experience in brief. "This was back in the days when we were all still low level and nowhere strong enough to fight against someone of Frieza's caliber. The guy was ridiculously powerful back then and only my dad could actually fight him toe to toe. But nowadays… enemies like Frieza and his family are nothing to us."

Having opened up her laptop sometime ago, the daughter of the world champ had spent the past couple hours or so chatting with her best friend from the south. Since accessing his channel, the pair had talked about all sorts of things, but mainly about past trips to new places. Videl was really interested to hear about Gohan's first journey to planet Namek, which he'd only brought up about fifteen minutes ago. It was here he talked about how he and his friends encountered the prick that'd wiped his entire race from existence and fought some of the toughest battles of his adolescent life.

Needless to say, it sounded like an exhilarating and frightening tale.

"Man. You had the craziest adventures when you were younger." Videl murmured, propping her head up on her hands, "Frieza, huh? The biggest adventure I ever had at that age was going to the island to watch my dad dominate the last World Martial Arts Tournament and going to Central City for a month that one time."

"Well, I can say this for certain, you've been to two more places than I have," Gohan chuckled, wrapping his arms over his chest. "I've never been to any of the World Tournaments and I've never visited Central City before."

"Really?" the raven haired girl looked slightly taken aback. But that expression was then replaced by a cocky grin and a competitive gaze. "The boy who single-handedly defeated the greatest terror this world has ever seen and journeyed across an ocean of stars to a planet an entire galaxy away, has never been to two of the most well-known and most visited places on earth?"

Gohan had the right of mind to look sheepish, "I've had a very sheltered childhood?"

This prompted Videl to fold her arms and look at the boy doubtfully, "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Yeah right. After everything she'd seen in the past couple of months.

Ever since the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_, the two of them had talked about so many things together. At the start of this entire venture, Gohan had told Videl all about the Cell Games and what'd happened leading up to it. This inevitably led him into a whole string of topics, most notably his encounter with Bojack and his henchmen, as well as the fact that he wasn't exactly human himself. However, Videl didn't seem to mind or dispute that realization at all. In fact, she seemed to accept it right off the bat, seeing as she knew an ordinary man wouldn't have been able to contest with a monster like that maniacal bug.

All of the important stuff was glossed over and soon enough Gohan began filling in the details himself bit by bit. When their conversations reached the same depth of emotion that he'd reached, the young Saiyan even got Videl to talk about the little mysteries in her life regarding her family, as well as a lot of the crap she'd had to put up with at school. Her father's fame brought her a lot of unwanted attention, either as popularity or negativity from people jealous of her position in the community. She had a lot of trouble coping with social structures and bullies at school, which meant she'd had to both physically and verbally defend herself on more than one occasion. By normal standards; that was a rough way to coast through primary school, an experience Gohan could relate to, only his were of the super-human variety. It was all a matter of perspective.

As it turns out, Videl hated being treated like a celebrity and just wanted to be viewed as a normal person by her friends. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't give her that kind of privilege and it is a reality that has grated on her life ever since she could remember. What she really longed for was to have a normal family like what she used to have with her mother and father years ago… or at least a normal life, away from the fame and her father's postulating in front of the crowd. She wanted freedom in her life.

Gohan was deeply moved by her revealing these details to him, since he figured that it must've been incredibly tough for her to do so. That being said, the two of them found an emotional equilibrium between one another that made them feel a lot more comfortable talking with one another. They didn't have to be afraid of unintentionally revealing anything anymore, which made their conversations feel more wholesome.

It was almost like they'd been best friends since childhood, even though they were still technically children.

"I _do_ live a long way from the city and have been homeschooled for most of my life. Even though I've been given more independence now, it doesn't change the fact that for a lot of my childhood, much of my free time has been spent stuck in this room studying," the demi-Saiyan replied honestly. Scrubbing his head and giving it a moment of pause, the young man smiled pleasantly, "I really have to get out more and see the world a little. I feel like I'm missing out on so much."

The young man's remark brought an excited smile to the raven haired girl's face, "You should come by my place then. I can show you around my house and take you on another guided tour of the city… show you all the hot spots you haven't visited yet. There's a really awesome market place and supermall down town."

"Yeah. That's a great idea," Gohan exclaimed from his end, grinning into the laptop's lens before sitting back a little. "And hey, since we're talking about visiting each other and stuff, why don't you come over to my house sometime. Mount Paozu is a really great place to hang out. I think you'd like it."

"Really?" Videl asked, seeing the boy nod and bringing a triumphant expression to her face. "That would be awesome, Gohan." Giving a very excited bounce that was an exact opposite to her usual, serious nature around other people, the girl quickly settled back down when she realized she was getting ahead of herself. Her visage becoming nervous seconds later, she then began pressing her fingers together anxiously. "And uhh… c-can I ask you something, Gohan?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"You know that I like fighting and martial arts, yeah?" When she saw the boy nod and throw her a curious stare, Videl swallowed heavily and continued, "Well umm… if it isn't too much trouble… do you think… you'd be able to teach me a few things?" Feeling her body tense up, the girl pressed onwards. "You're the strongest person I've ever met and I saw all of the amazing stuff you were able to do. If… If it's possible, do you think I'd be able to learn how to fight like you?"

Appearing surprised at first, Gohan thought about her questions for a moment while rubbing his chin. Following a few seconds of deliberation, the youngster quickly gave her a response, "You're already a really strong fighter, Videl… much stronger than a lot of other people I've met. If you like, I would love to teach you a few things. But only if you really want to…"

Videl immediately appeared excited at his answer, "And to fly as well?" Oh. She really wanted to learn how to fly. That would be the greatest thing ever.

The boy chuckled, "Yeah. Of course, but let's take this one step at a time, alright. You can't rush into something like this." He could see how excited the girl was getting, so he quickly moved to calm her down some so she didn't give herself a heart attack. "These things take a lot of work."

"That's okay. A little bit of hard work doesn't bother me. Heck, I'll train all day and night if I have to." Literally rocking back and forth in her seat, Videl grinned across at the screen, "So… when do you think we can visit each other?"

Sensing she still had a lot of pent up vigor, Gohan chuckled and quickly checked his time slot. "I'll let you know in a little while. I've still got some chores I need to do around the house first, so as soon as I'm done with them I'll drop you a line, alright?"

"Sure," Videl nodded enthusiastically, quickly reaching forward to tap her keyboard. "Thanks so much for this, Gohan. I… you have no idea how happy this makes me. I really owe you one." When she said that, you could tell that she meant every word.

"No problem, Videl," the demi-Saiyan replied with a warm smile, "I'm just glad we'll be able to meet up and hang out some more."

"Yeah. Same here." She could definitely agree on that. Since they both loved martial arts, the two of them had a ton of reasons to look forward to visiting each other. To train and to hang out together, what was there to not get excited about? "I'll… be hearing from you soon, yeah?"

"Yeah," Gohan nodded affirmatively while reaching forward to tap his computer, "See yah, Videl."

"Later, Gohan." And with that, the transmission cut out.

Breathing out a long sigh, Videl leant back in her chair and placed a hand over her chest.

Damn. Her heart was literally pounding against her ribcage from excitement. Hearing that her friend from afar was open to the idea of training her to fight just like him and his friends made the girl all shaky and jumpy inside. The last time she felt something like this was when she was watching Gohan fight those alien guys back during the Intergalactic Tournament, and that wasn't very long ago.

This was a whole new ballpark she was stepping into, one where the stakes were infinitely higher than anything she'd ever encountered before. The world that Gohan was from, where people could touch the skies and smash mountains with a single punch… was an area of freedom and exhilaration that her father couldn't even dream of touching. And now she was being given an opportunity to try her hand at it.

She wasn't sure how she would go, but even though she was scared, the raven haired youngster was looking forward to it all the same. It was something that made her blood pump and her body quiver with anticipation.

"_Get back to me soon, Gohan-kun,"_ Videl thought, a warm smile pulling across her lips as she hopped up, stretched, and decided to plop down on top of her bed. Clambering across the large mattress, she then wrapped her arms around one of her pillows and stared out the window to her left for the next few minutes, Gohan's smiling face hovering in front of her eyes. After which Videl closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

For some reason, she felt incredibly drowsy.

It must have been from all the excitement she's gotten from talking with her friend.

XXX

(Outside)

Descending from the sky faster than a speeding bullet, the small pod containing the alien traveler came to a stop just three feet off of the ground. Lurching when its momentum ceased, causing a cloud of dust to rise off of the pavement leading from the front gates to the steps of Hercule Satan's mansion, the sphere then began to unfold.

Just like wrapping paper, the metal bits pulled away and gently deposited its passenger onto the floor while it retreated into her back, disappearing seamlessly like wings on a beetle. With her fiery orange hair waving behind her, Kana took a moment to scan her surroundings, including the building in front of her and the walls surrounding the property.

Recognizing it from the pictures as well as the name _'Satan'_ stretched out atop its roof, the young girl then strolled forward. Heading down the path and across the palm tree dotted garden, she ascended the steps of the enormous mansion and stopped at the front door.

Having learned from her previous entry into a property on this planet that it was impolite to come crashing through a person's roof to speak with them, Kana adjusted her approach and instead went for the front, as it was customary on earth. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and gently rapped against the door, before lowering her hand and waiting patiently for an answer. Her glowing form drank in the sun's energy hanging high above, which she spared a momentary glance towards until the sound of approaching footsteps beyond the barrier drew her gaze forward once again.

The door opened shortly afterwards to reveal an old man with grey hair, a mustache, thin glasses, and wearing a black and white tailed suit with a handkerchief slipped into the breast pocket, standing before the celestial visitor. The butler of the house spotted the visitor immediately; glancing down at her while she craned her neck to face him, since he stood a head and a half taller than her.

"Yes?" the man spoke with an upward inflection.

"Excuse me. Is this the home of the one they call Hercule Satan; the current World Martial Arts Champion and the man that is regarded as the most powerful fighter on earth?"

The butler didn't even flinch, merely taking in the sight of the strangely dressed yet stunning young girl standing on their doorstep. "Yes. It is. To who is it that I am speaking?"

A smile appearing once again, the woman bowed to the household worker, "My name is Kana; I am a part-time privateer and freelancer for the Planet Trade Organization of the Four Quadrants of Space. I have journeyed far from the core systems of the universe seeking a world that has been completely terraformed to suit a variety of flora and fauna. As such, I have come to Satan City to treat with the great Hercule Satan in order to discuss rights and ownership over this world you call Earth." Same introduction as before, only she'd tweaked it a little.

Blinking, the butler stood at the door staring down at the smiling girl with the fiery locks for a good long minute of silence. Watching her hair wave behind her like a giant flame at the end of a candle, the man then looked over his shoulder and then back at the girl, before nodding to her in acknowledgement.

"Could you wait a moment, please?"

Kana nodded, "Of course."

The butler than promptly closed the door, leaving the girl standing there in silence and staring at the wooden barrier with an eager smile on her face.

XXX

The butler quietly and languidly made his way into the house via the great hall, hands behind his back and an unchanging expression in play. Turning right, he headed through the front lounge, decorated in all of the embellishments and commemorations awarded to the owner of the house, before then making his way into a secondary living space beyond that. Passing through several more rooms and another corridor along the way, the butler then stepped into what could only be described as a king's chamber.

Sweeping and expansive, with all the wealth and splendor you would expect from a person of high social standing, the room was warm and spacious. It had half a dozen small podiums set up along the walls with statues, all of which were dressed in the many uniforms Hercule Satan had worn over the years to his various competitions. The chamber also had paintings hung up along the walls with shelves of books stacked to one side and DVDs on the other, and a massive cinema screen TV setup above a superb surround sound system. To put it simply, it was decorated just as, if not more lavishly than all the other rooms put together.

Ignoring all of the trappings and ornaments surrounding him, the butler made a B-line straight for the owner of the establishment lying across the center couch. Coming to a stop beside it, hands behind his back and his game face on, the butler then waited patiently, listening to the large fighter's snickering as he perused through the girl magazine in his grip. It took several seconds of just standing there before the afro man in the bathrobe and slippers finally recognized the presence of his butler and addressed him.

"What is it, Alfred?"

"It's Jenkins, sir," the servant of the house replied stoically.

"Oh, yes, Jenkins. Sorry about that," Hercule cleared his throat, while not bothering to turn away from his article, "What's up?"

The butler was unfazed, "There's a girl at the front door asking for you, sir."

"Is it one of Videl's friends?" Hercule asked.

"No, sir."

"Is it somebody from the tabloids? If it is, tell them I'm busy." His expression twisting into one reflecting annoyance, the martial artist mumbled about 'stupid reporters' and how they were always coming to call on him. If he wasn't such a people person he would have sent all of them packing on the first swing. "I'm not interested in speaking with any vultures at the moment."

"No, sir," Jenkins replied while straightening up, "It's a young woman named Kana from something called the Planet Trade Organization. She says she's come to challenge you to a fight for the right to own the earth." The man said it in a way that sounded like the stupidest thing ever. Despite how impressive the girl appeared, no matter how she could have said it, no one could ever hope to take that kind of statement seriously.

Hell, even the butler thought it was some kind of joke. He figured it was just some hotshot who dropped by to challenge Mr. Satan to a one-on-one behind closed doors like they sometimes did.

Immediately catching onto what his butler had said Hercule threw him a suspicious look, "Is she hot?"

"Yes, sir. She is quite striking, if a little bit on the young side."

"Oh-ho. So it's a fan-slash-admirer, huh?" Hercule exclaimed, tossing his magazine aside before leaping to his feet. Snickering, the man gripped the belt of his robe with both hands and strode past his servant. "Well then, I'd better go over there and say hello. After all, I wouldn't want the people to think that Mr. Satan is a horrible person who wouldn't spare a moment to speak with one of the good people of his hometown."

Jenkins watched the man leave with a confident hop in his step, expression and position unchanging even when Hercule disappeared round the bend. Needless to say, it was impossible to tell what the butler was thinking. Of course, being a servant of the household, it probably made sense that the man was being tolerable of his boss's antics.

"Of course, sir."

XXX

Like a statue the girl remained, mostly staring at the door but every once in a while turning to look around the building's front yard. The mansion was massive, about as big as the palaces she'd visited on several other worlds she'd visited. It certainly bared all of the accouterments of a celebrity as well as a savior. The front garden was also quite beautiful, covered in a wide sheet of grass, bushes, and trees of all shapes and sizes, but mostly palms. The owner of the estate certainly spared no expense in making this a kingly home.

Absently, the fiery haired girl noticed the people walking past the home and taking it in, as well as the strange young woman standing at the front of the house. Ignoring them, the girl turned back to the door when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps once again. After waiting for several moments, she then looked up in time to see the entrance open and a large man twice her height appear in the doorway. His size immediately grabbing her attention, Kana's gaze panned upwards to look upon the chiseled face of the martial artist referred to by the people of the planet as the greatest warrior alive.

The sight of the girl with the fiery hair and the strange getup had Hercule stare at her for a moment, before a wide grin pulled across his face, "Why, hello there."

Cringing slightly at the man's booming voice, Kana then threw him a friendly smile, "Good day, sir. Are you the one they call Hercule Satan?"

The martial artist with the afro then grinned smugly, "Heh-heh. That's me, of course! What? Are you saying that you don't recognize the greatest martial arts champion in the world and the man who single-handedly defeated the mighty Cell?"

"I just wanted to make sure that I was speaking to the right man," the alien invader replied softly while bowing humbly to the imposing figure. "My name is Kana. I have journeyed far and gone to a great deal of effort to meet with you, Mr. Satan. I must say, the tales of your legendary exploits have certainly done well in encapsulating your magnificence. You are as impressive as the people of this planet said you were."

Hercule appeared flattered, "Why, thank you very much, young lady. The people sure do know the right things to say when they talk about me and my accomplishments. Words cannot fathom how deeply moved I am by their words of praise and gratitude." The man placed his hands on his hips and grinned down at the radiant youngster, who beamed back at him in return. "So… Kana, is it? Are you interested in having an autograph signed by yours truly? Or would you rather sit with me at my table and tell your friends at school that you ate dinner with the greatest martial artist in the world?"

"You are most gracious," Kana bowed, but then fixed her gaze back onto the giant of a man, "But I would much rather we move on to the negotiations as soon as possible, if that is alright with you?"

It was that very word that had the man stare at the girl in momentary confusion, "Uh? Negotiations? What do you mean by that?"

Kana beamed, "I have journeyed far across the galaxy seeking to battle the strongest warrior from this planet to determine its security status. It is a form of negotiation that has been practiced by members of the Planet Trade Organization for years. Even though I am not a fulltime employee of the group, as I am a freelancer, I still follow the codes and practices of the business to ensure a fair and equal exchange between both parties. It is the law, after all." Her response eliciting an even more bewildered look from the champion, the woman continued. "The concession must be made solely between the investigator and the guardian of this planet, otherwise known as the region's strongest warrior. This is to determine whether or not the sectors in question are adequately protected by the current populace, as the Planet Trade Organization views all planets containing life to be extremely valuable and must be preserved."

"Umm… okay," Hercule murmured, looking absolutely lost as to what this girl was talking about. From his point of view, it almost seemed like she was speaking in code. However, there were a few things he was able to pick up from her extended tirade, which inevitably brought a smile to his face. "So you wish to have a little sparring match with the Champ, is that it? You wanna tell your friends back home you were able to trade punches with the strongest man in the world?"

"Yes," Kana nodded, giving the man her answer. "It would be a great honor."

"Okay then!" the big man chuckled while sticking his chest out, "Since you obviously traveled a long way to meet me, I wouldn't mind spending a couple of minutes busting out some of my less destructive moves. A cute little thing like you definitely deserves a shot at greatness." The martial artist then leant forward and showed the girl the side of his face. "Tell yah what, seeing as how I'm a sportsman, I'll let yah have the first punch, okay?"

This statement had the glowing girl recoil a little when the owner of the house showed her his cheek, "You… wish for me to make the first move?"

"Of course! Being the most powerful man alive, it would be completely unfair to my opponents if I didn't let them land the first blow," Hercule continued, obviously under the impression that this young girl wouldn't be able to hurt him. Looking her over, the redhead didn't seem like much of a threat. He was also certain that if he was to try and hit the girl, even if it was just a game, he would not only hurt her, but bring a lot of unwarranted bad press to his reputation. 'World Champ hospitalizes fan' didn't look good on the front page. So, being the kind 'sportsman' that he was, Mr. Satan considerately gave his visitor a fair chance. "Since this is going to be a short bout between you and me, let's make the most of it, yeah?"

Blinking a few times, Kana smiled brightly, "So you agree to our terms?" When she saw the man nod, the girl's expression took on several serious contours before her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Very well then. Let the negotiations begin." She then pulled her fist back, taking aim at the human male who just stood there, puckering up with his hands held comfortably behind his back. _"Information on this man says he's able to crush mountains with his bare hands and catch objects traveling faster than the speed of light. That means his reflexes are on an astonishingly high level. I'll make sure this punch is slow so that I can avoid a possible counter." _Making sure she had her timing right, Kana jabbed out at him.

It was a light tap, nothing too powerful. If the stats on this Hercule Satan character were right, she made sure to throw a low velocity punch so as to avoid receiving a hit of her own should her opponent suddenly pull a fast one on her. In spite of his good word, the girl didn't trust people as far as she could throw them.

In bullet time you could see her knuckles crash across the great martial artist's face and completely distort it for all of a few milliseconds. Then, once her fist had finished extending and the gunshot of impact rang out, the stunned Hercule was then lifted clean off his feet and sent rocketing backwards through his house, crashing through every single wall and fixture before eventually exploding out the back door and across the yard.

The man's trajectory through every single barrier and door in the enormous domicile caused the entire property to shake, which startled Videl out of her sleep and had her looking around in panic.

Traveling for a second longer across his back garden, Hercule eventually collided with the trunk of a firm standing palm tree. He remained splayed up against it with a look of abject horror slapped across his face, before his stricken body fell and landed on the edge of his enormous swimming pool with a splash.

His anticlimactic flight not only had his butler staring through all the holes he'd made in bewilderment, but it had Kana blinking in surprise as well.

Lowering her fist, the fiery haired woman strolled into the mansion and began making her way to the back through the many man shaped holes her opponent had made. She passed by Jenkins, ignoring his surprised visage while also failing to notice Videl when she came running down the stairs to see what was going on. When she saw the fiery haired teenager walk past through her ruined home, she could only stare after her in shock.

"What's going on here?"

Descending the back steps to where the pool was, Kana came to a stop by its edge and watched as Mr. Satan floated there on his stomach like a waterlogged corpse. Thinking he was dead, she then saw the man throw his head up with a gasp and a cry of pain, gripping the side of his face with his back turned completely to her. After whimpering and sniveling for a few moments, wondering whether or not he'd broken something, the man then turned around when he sensed a pair of eyes on him and freaked out when he saw the orange haired girl staring back at him.

Hercule scrambled out of the water to the other side, clawing his way across the grass of his yard before turning around and gaping at the girl in the plug suit. "Wh-Wh-What in the heck are you?" His question was promptly answered by his attacker levitating off of the ground and floating across the pool, which had his eyes bug out of its sockets. _"Sh-She's just like __**those**__ guys! The ones with the powers from the Cell Games!"_ When she landed on the other side, Kana then marched across the pavement and onto the grass where the man was still lying, only to see him backpedal away out of fear.

Kana stopped walking the moment Hercule moved, giving the man a confused stare, "I didn't expect this. I thought the strongest man in the world would be able to put up a much better fight than this." She tilted her head momentarily and raised an eyebrow. "For someone who is reputed to be earth's greatest fighter, credited with saving it from two completely different threats, you aren't as tough as the information says you are." She then smiled pleasantly and raised a finger to point down at him, the tip of which started to glow a brilliant gold, "Unless… you're hiding a major bulk of your strength in an effort to draw this conflict out?"

Seeing the girl start charging an energy attack prompted Hercule to cry out in terror and cover his face. But then, just when Kana was about to hit him with a blast that would cause more than a few burns, the teen was caught completely by surprise when something hard and fast slammed into the side of her head, cocking it to the side and causing her eyes to widen in surprise.

Unbeknownst to her, the celestial girl had been hit in the temple by a flying side kick executed by one Videl Satan, an attack which immediately had the star-child cease gathering energy and freeze.

When Videl saw her father cower in fear underneath their intruder when she raised her hand to shoot him, the raven haired girl reacted instantaneously and sprinted from her place on the back porch to stop her. At first the girl thought she'd be able to knock the intruder out on the first shot or at best stagger her enough to throw her off target. But when her leg unexpectedly crashed into something equivalent to a steel pole and the fire haired stranger didn't move beyond a slight head nudge, Videl immediately knew what she was up against.

Leaping away and back flipping across the grass, the eleven-year-old fighter skidded to a stop and took a stance. Setting a nervous glare upon the alien invader, whom she could feel nothing but bad vibes coming off of her, she saw her father's attacker robotically turn in her direction and narrow her eyes.

When Hercule realized he was still alive, he looked to see what was happening. "V-Videl! What are you doing?"

Identifying her attacker standing several yards away, Kana frowned. "A new opponent?" Marking her new foe, the woman straightened up and, without warning, fired two golden beams of energy directly from her eyes that flew towards her target at blazing speed. However, instead of traveling in a straight line, the beams zigzagged erratically and randomly through the air, bending and cornering at sudden angles while homing in on their intended target.

Videl immediately sprung into action, back flipping away from the beams when they attempted to hit her and continuing to run when she saw them chase after her. Sprinting across the grass, the youngster barreled out of the way to avoid the tracers a second time, before leaping over one of her dad's garden statues to hide behind it. The moment she concealed herself, the beams made a B-line towards the statue. But instead of hitting the Hercule monument full on, the beams shot up and over it, curling back down before homing in on their target once more.

Though initially surprised, the raven haired girl waited until the last moment before leaping out of the way, avoiding the beams that slammed into the statue, which exploded with concussive force. The blast not only caused a fireball and a shockwave that knocked Videl tumbling across the grass, it almost punched a ten meter wide crater in the ground. The statue meanwhile, lay in pieces across the ground.

Kana blinked in surprise when she saw Videl stagger back to her feet. "Impressive. No one has ever avoided my _**Circuit**_ _**Tracer**_ before, even if it wasn't set to kill." She then rounded on the newcomer, whom she could see was glaring at her while covered in dirt and burns. "What is your name?"

The raven haired fighter frowned and took a step back, "My name is Videl Satan."

"Videl Satan?" Kana repeated, narrowing her eyes. When she did, she suddenly produced an orange hologram directly over her left eye resembling a scouter. As soon as the visor appeared, it focused a set of crosshairs on the girl and began crunching numbers at high speed. The beeping of the device stopped moments later. "Hmm… you have a power reading of 130 riki." She then turned her head and focused on Hercule, who was still lying on the ground and looking across at the girl fearfully. When the numbers stopped once again, the alien frowned. "And your father has a power reading of a 137 riki."

Contemplating the scores, the extraterrestrial teenager then decided to focus her attention outside of the house. Panning over the city, her scouter began producing thousands of numbers, all of which were focusing on people that were far beyond reach of normal sight. After a few seconds of scanning, Kana stopped and frowned. "Most of the readings in this metropolis average around 5 to 10 riki. You two are by far the strongest individuals in this region… and probably the entire planet if my mathematical algorithm is correct." She then looked back down at the ground and sighed. "It's a shame. And here I was hoping for a challenge. But I suppose if Hercule Satan is the most powerful fighter on this planet, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to declare myself the winner by default."

It was her last remark that quickly caught Videl's attention, with the girl looking up to see the fiery haired woman shake her head in disappointment and deactivate the hologram over her eye. The child's gaze fixing upon the ground as well, the daughter of Mr. Satan quickly began breaking down the situation and working out what she'd missed from what she'd been able to observe.

Videl quickly came to the conclusion that this stranger, whoever the hell she was, was looking to challenge the strongest person on this planet and defeat them, instead of having to waste energy going through the entire population. Her search had somehow led her to her father, which seemed like an obvious choice from a normal person's point of view.

However, now that her eyes had been opened and she'd been able to catch a glimpse of the world beyond the one she'd grown up in, and after feeling how strong this girl actually was, Videl knew for a fact that this opponent of theirs was way out of her father's league.

There was only one person she knew who could face someone like this.

Kana's attention then turned towards the sky and she raised her hand, pointing it towards the clouds. "Bit! Activate the composer unit of the _Star Shooter_ and prepare to digitize this entire planet for transport."

Hearing the woman begin preparations to potentially destroy or capture their world, Videl gritted her teeth and threw her hand up, "WAIT!" Her shout successfully attracting Kana's attention, the young girl then glared firmly in her direction, "You said you were looking for the most powerful fighter on the planet to challenge them, right? Well… I know exactly who you need to look for."

This had Kana lower her arm and stare in unnerving silence at the girl, "Who?"

Videl, sprouting a grin, stared confidently back at the fire haired woman, "His name is Son Gohan."

"Son?" Remembering have heard that name a little while earlier, Kana quickly brought her left arm up and activated her hologram projector. Cycling through information at light speed, she immediately came up with a profile of Son Gohan, as well as all of the information attached to it, "Son Gohan… as in the son of Son Goku?"

The raven haired girl nodded, "That's right."

"You're saying _he's_ the most powerful fighter on this planet… _not_ your father?" Kana asked, a little bit skeptical. Even though the first name she'd heard had been Son Goku, a person that had come straight from the King's mouth, she'd unfortunately set her expectations a little too high when she heard about the people's champion Hercule Satan and researched into all of his accomplishments. Her hopes had been raised and dashed all at once in spectacular fashion, so you could understand the teen's immediate doubts regarding this girl's sudden declarations.

She felt like she was being sent on a wild goose chase.

"Yes," Videl answered again with continuing certainty, her eyes shimmering with pride as she soldiered on. "He's strong… stronger than you can imagine. And get this, not only is _he_ the one who defeated Cell and those aliens at the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_," she added to this by shooting a glare at her father, which had the man turn slightly blue before Videl looked back at their planet's guest, "He and his friends also fought and defeated the space tyrant Frieza. Perhaps you've heard of him?" It was a shot in the dark, but she had to try.

Okay, now if the first bits of information didn't catch Kana's attention… THAT certainly did.

Looking up at the girl with an expression mirroring shock, the fire haired girl swore her heart skipped a couple of beats before her mouth started to move. "He… and his friends… were the ones that killed Frieza?"

"Yep," Videl nodded, cheering inwardly at finally rousing some sort of surprise out of the invader.

Eyes sparkling, Kana felt her excitement grow once more and grinned inwardly. _"Frieza… he and his family were considered one of the most powerful family races in the Northern Quadrant at one time." _They had also been the head of the Destruction Corps of the Planet Trade Organization, tasked with systematically destroying planets in order to create balance in the universe. Unfortunately, the family had gotten a little bit carried away in their duties and started wiping out planets off the record without prior consent from the core galaxies, which led to disputes between them and the heads of the organization. Nevertheless, they'd been one of the most infamous groups in the cosmos, known for their ruthlessness and efficiency._ "But that was before they were all mysteriously wiped out several years ago by an unknown third party, leading to insurgency within their ranks."_

While Kana silently pondered over this sudden development, Videl quickly edged around her and went to check on her father. Taking him by the shoulders, the girl stood by him protectively while their butler slowly moved around the swimming pool to see if there was anything he could do to help. However, after seeing what that woman had just done to the world martial arts champion, he wasn't sure there was anything _any_ of them could do.

Kana's eyes closed meditatively as she stood in place, _"Frieza was the second strongest in his family behind his brother Cooler. At maximum power, that pale lizard could generate 12,000,000 on the riki scale, which is more than enough to make even the strongest races think twice about crossing him."_ A chuckle escaped her lips as her fists clenched, causing the nodes on her body to glow a hot blue while the orange veins of her plug suit fluctuated. _"Anyone who can defeat Frieza is definitely no slouch. I might get some worthwhile fun out of this planet yet."_

"I made a grievous miscalculation," Kana spoke up, drawing Videl and Hercule's attention back to her when she smiled in their direction, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you and your family, and I apologize for any damages I may have caused to your property." With a low bow, she then took a few steps back and wrapped herself up in her metallic ball once again. As soon as she was completely incased, the metallic sphere hummed loudly and rocketed up into the sky at lightning speed, vanishing into the clouds with a sonic boom.

When the wind and dust finally settled, leaving the Satan mansion with a massive hole plowed through its center and the family scattered all across the backyard, Videl and Hercule spent the next few minutes recollecting their nerves. Following their close encounter with the kindest alien invader they would ever come across, who seemed like both an angel and Death incarnate sharing the same body, the pair could rest a little easy knowing that she was gone.

Videl however, being the smartest one there, knew for a fact that it wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

Reason being was that even though she'd just saved her father and the world from certain annihilation, she knew full well that she'd pretty much sent a rabid dog after her best friend in Mount Paozu.

Feeling immediate concern for his safety and knowing that he might be in trouble, Videl quickly made the decision to go see her friend and turned to glare down at her father.

The Champ, appearing so diminutive and pitiable before his daughter that he seemed physically smaller than her, looked up at his little girl with an ashamed and meek expression all in one. He gulped at the hard stare his child gave him, "Y-You know?"

The teen nodded, "Yeah."

"H-How long?"

"About a month now… though… I had a feeling much earlier than that," Videl replied, obviously referring to the man's supposed victory over the mighty Cell and sparing him a knowing smile as a result.

Hercule, murmuring uneasily, took a moment to suck it in before, with whatever strength he could muster, attempted to get to his feet. Hell, he spared no thought or consideration to the fact that the right side of his face, which had taken that monstrous hit from before, was practically swollen purple. "Videl… sweet pea… I… have a lot of explaining to do…"

"We can talk later dad," Videl said, pulling the man to his feet and seeing him look back at her from a timid, hunched over position. "But for now, I need to borrow your jet-copter…"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Hi all, once again. Another chapter out and boy, the arc sure has gotten to a hilarious start.

Basically picking up immediately after the _**Bojack Arc**_, we see everyone has returned to their normal routines and living it up in their time of peace. Of course, unlike in the anime, Gohan isn't slacking off and the story doesn't start with a highschool fic. This period pretty much explores what Gohan and the Z-fighters are currently doing in their off time, and also shows the new kind of foes that show up during the Seven Year gap period that they have to face.

You'll also see how the Son family deals with how the public now know that they were the ones at the Cell Games as well.

For starters, Gohan and Videl have been keeping in contact over long distance, and have resolved to try and see one another more frequently face to face. This is where they start to organize time to visit one another, and where Videl asks our delightful hero whether he can train her. I think she will make some interesting headway in the next seven years when she manages to convince her father to let her go visit him, maybe even hang out at his place. Especially now since she told him she knows the truth, and knows who Gohan is.

Also, Gohan doesn't know Kana has arrived yet, since he's so focused at home doing other things he really hasn't been paying attention to his surroundings.

Zangya on the other hand is just keeping in the shadows and watching Gohan. She's not his enemy anymore, but she isn't his friend either. She's just an observer at this point, wrestling over whether or not she should interact with the group. It's a very confusing time for her, and the following arc will probably help her find some closure, as well as develop an epiphany in life.

And we also meet a new villain.

Unlike the pink bubblegum that is Buu, we see a member of the extended _Planetary Trade Organization _stepping into the light, _**Kana**_. She's a mercenary working for the company as a collector, and you'll find out more about her in the next chapter. The scene where Videl dodged her eye beams was inspired from _**Justice League**_ _**Unlimited **_when **Batman** dodges **Darkseid's** Omega Beams, if people didn't pick up that reference. I thought that was a nice touch.

Anyway, hope to see you all in the fight scenes for the next chapter. : )


	5. A Most Jovial Conversation

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_A Most Jovial Conversation_

(Outside the Son Home)

"Hey, Tom. You got that camera ready or what?" the raven haired woman in the black and white suit asked, stopping for a moment to glare back at her co-worker speedily unloading their equipment from the van.

"Hold on a second, Yumiko. I got it. Geez," the young, blonde haired adult in the fisherman's vest and red cap replied, turning away from the vehicle with the device in hand. "There's no need to rush." Upon switching it on, he then began trudging forward to walk alongside the woman, who smiled confidently as her partner adjusted the lens before turning back ahead of them.

"Good. Now come on. I want to see if we can catch an interview with the Son boy and ask him about the Cell Games," the reporter replied, beginning to move across the hill towards the house at a casual pace. Wearing an armband on her right emblazoned with the ZTV logo, the most famous news stations in the world and the one responsible for covering the harrowing events of earth's most terrifying day, it was painfully clear why the two of them were there.

After the events of the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_, it was expected that people like this were bound to come around sooner or later…

Even though many had come and gone already. The past month had been pretty hectic.

"So… we're just gonna go knock on their front door and hope that the boy is in?" Tom asked, propping the heavy box up his shoulder.

"Well of course. I mean… it's not like we have any security to worry about," the beautiful, long haired Yumiko replied with a smug tone of voice and her nose in the air. "Trust me. This'll be a walk in the park. The public is going to wanna hear the young fighter's side of the story of how the Champ Mr. Satan saved the world from Cell."

It was her vocalized plan that had her skittishly pursuing partner murmur uneasily. "I'm not sure about this. A couple of my friends back at the station warned me that there was a very scary and strong woman living in that house. They said she chased them all away with a rake and even tossed one of them over the hill."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Yumiko replied, looking back at her cameraman disbelievingly as they descended the slope toward the dome-shaped building down below. "They were probably just scared off by the mother with a gun… the cowards. They are country folk after all." The thought of a whole truckload of station workers and reporters being sent away by one woman made her laugh. She bet she could do much better than that.

Unfortunately, in her moment of staring self-assuredly back at her assistant, the well-dressed news worker failed to notice where she was going and inadvertently walked into something small and solid only a few yards away from the Son home. Stumbling backwards and caught completely by surprise, both she and Tom looked to see what it was they'd run into, and immediately became horrified when they saw a blue-skinned woman with pointy ears and long, curly orange hair standing right in their path with her arms crossed.

Upon getting their attention, the earthling-dressed yet still very alien-looking Zangya flared her ki at the intruders ever so slightly, allowing a blood-red aura to surround her lithe form and a menacing shadow to cross her face. Seeing the two news crew members back off in an instant, trembling from head to toe and huddling up close to one another at the sight of her threatening form, the former lieutenant of Bojack's gang frowned.

"Scram."

With a terrified scream, the two news reporters took off like the road-runner, charging back up the hill and leaping into their van. As soon as they were in, they started the engine and drove off, trying to put as much distance between them and the 'devil woman' guarding the house.

After watching the ZTV vehicle disappear over the horizon in a cloud of dust, Zangya snorted, "Good riddance." A smile then crept across her face at the mild sense of amusement the act had brought her and nodded in acknowledgement. _"Consider yourselves lucky it wasn't the banshee that chased you off."_ From what she'd seen the last time the news reporters had come to the house wanting to interview the demi-Saiyan, the Son mother proved to be just as terrifying as she was.

Only she didn't have pointy ears.

Making sure that there was no one else left in the area, Zangya looked back at the house momentarily before flying back over to her tree.

No lousy human cockroaches were going to badger Son Gohan before _she_ did. That was a promise.

OOO

(Meanwhile – Inside the House)

"Gohan! Could you come here for a moment please?!"

"Coming!" Quickly shutting off the vacuum cleaner in the living room, the demi-Saiyan set the machine aside and hurriedly made his way into the kitchen. When he arrived, he was promptly greeted by the smile of his mother, who was standing by the table with a few slips of zeni bills and a receipt in her hand. "What's up, mum?"

The Son woman beamed happily, "I have a little errand for you to run today." She handed him the money and paper, which the boy gingerly took from her hand. "A couple weeks ago I ordered a few new sets of clothing from the _Cosmopolitan_ store over in Satan City. You know the big shop I took you to with all the home style dresses and kimonos on display at the front?" When she saw her son nod, she grinned, "I need you to pop into that place and pick them up for me."

"No problem, mum," Gohan replied cheerfully, at the same time clenching the money in his hand. "It shouldn't take me too long."

Chi-Chi nodded and then gestured to the bills, "That should be enough to cover the cost of the dresses. Be sure to bring them all back in one piece, okay? And if you're quick I'll make you something extra special for tea tonight."

"Awesome," Gohan chirped, being sure to fold up the notes and slip them and the receipt into his blue, gi belt. Making sure the money was secure the youngster then adjusted his top and dashed towards the door, where he slipped on the blue boots of his uniform. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay, Gohan. Be careful, sweetie," his mother replied. Seeing the boy smile, he then moved at super speed out the door and up into the sky. He was airborne before the door had even closed behind him, bringing a warm glow to the woman's face. _"Just like his father: lively and eager as ever."_ She then sighed and, glancing down, rested a hand over her stomach once again. _"Hopefully things will turn out alright for us."_

Unbeknownst to the mother though, and to the energetic demi-Saiyan as his form disappeared over the horizon, the orange-haired figure of Zangya, who was standing underneath a familiar oak tree and watching the house intently, took off from her spot and followed after the boy.

Curious to know where Gohan was going, the woman kept a safe distance from him while he traveled at jet speed northwards.

Of course, she wasn't the only one that was watching him…

OOO

(Meanwhile – Above the Planet)

Back up in orbit above the planet, the spherical pod containing the fiery haired Kana had stationed itself above the easterly half of the continent once again. Able to make out the faint outlines of cities and urban areas far below, the visitor from outer space had a perfect, unobstructed view of all of the major communities and towns in sight. Despite there being over two billion people living on the planet, the investigator was confident that she would be able to track down and find the person she was looking for. Just a quick browse through the information in her system and a few seconds of number crunching, she found her target's home in an instant.

However, having already tried this method twice before, with rather awkward results on both counts, the huntress knew right then and there that she needed to use a more precise method of tracking. Through trial and error, Kana realized she couldn't rely on her old means of searching for her target on such a large and diverse planet. She also realized she couldn't rely on the scouter system either, since she knew that there were many beings out there capable of concealing their energy levels, which was why she wasn't able to pick up anything on the first scan.

She was overzealous in her approach, which led to two muck ups.

Therefore, since she couldn't depend on one system to find what she was looking for, she decided to combine both and expand down her parameters.

So, upon suspending herself in orbit above the planet, instead of just rocketing down to her desired location the moment her sensors honed in on it, she spent another couple of seconds making sure she had all the data she needed before making her next move.

After all, she didn't want to make the same mistake a third time.

"The Son household is located on the edge of the region known as Mount Paozu," Kana murmured, the hologram screen in front of her bringing up a large crosshair over a satellite image of the landmass far below. That was where her target's home was located. "There are currently two family members taking up residence in that domicile. One of them is the mother, Son Chi-Chi, and the other is her eldest child, Son Gohan." A smile crossed her lips when she saw two life signs blink onto her screen when she zoomed in on the site, both of them appearing as red dots. Just as she expected.

Crunching the numbers, Kana then got an immediate readout on the two life forms through her scouter system, the scores of which hovered above both figures. The investigator raised an eyebrow. "The mother has a reading of 140 riki. Interesting." She then looked at the second one. "Son Gohan has a power reading of 135 riki. Hmm… that can't be right…" Her brow furrowed somewhat as she looked upon the profile figure of her target, _"For someone to have fought against Frieza…"_

However, just as she was watching the signatures mingle about inside the home from her orbital position above the planet, she suddenly saw one of the red dots take off at an incredible speed in a northeasterly direction. This immediately had the numbers on her screen go haywire and a new reading appear above the fast moving Son Gohan, which had Kana's eyes widen.

"15,000,000 riki?" At this, Kana realized the boy must have been suppressing his power inside of his home so that he didn't accidentally damage anything or draw any attention to himself. When she did, an excited grin formed on her face, "Now that's more like it." She then ran through a swift line of code before several new numbers appeared on screen.

Calculating the boy's speed and trajectory across the country, the visitor to the planet figured that she would be able to intercept the super human directly over Satan City. So, upon punching the numbers into the system, her pod then shot straight down towards the planet at breakneck speed, piercing the atmosphere seconds later.

OOO

(Satan City)

"Man, there are so many people out today," Krillin mumbled to himself, looking through the window of the coffee shop he was in and watching as hundreds of civilians ambled down the road in two different directions. Seeing the multitude of bodies on the move and hearing the clamor of the crowd seep in through the open door brought a chuckle from the short Z-fighter as he quietly reached for his cappuccino, "Good thing I'm not on the street right now… otherwise I'd be swamped."

He was a little guy in one of the biggest cities in the world. How could he _not_ think about stuff like that? Having lived on a tiny island for so many years surrounded by only a couple of people in his life, the transition into a concrete environment where the population suddenly skyrocketed definitely had more than a few compasses spinning.

Smiling as he stirred his coffee, the man turned back to the quiet store laid out around him, where he could see only a couple of people occupying the tables and booths. "Ah well, as long as there aren't any wars going on or evil aliens dropping down from the skies to invade our planet, then I'm not complaining."

Determined to make the most of the free time that he had, the young Z-fighter had decided to drop out of his training for the day and dropped by Satan City to have a look around. With the earth now in a state of peace and with no diabolical villains threatening to spoil their days, Krillin was adamant in getting back out there in the world and living it up. He even thought about giving Yamcha a ring to see if he wanted to go clubbing tonight and mingle with the common folk. It'd been a while since either of them had really done something like that, and it was high time the scar-faced former ranger and mercenary got himself a girlfriend.

Krillin on the other hand wasn't fussed about that. Reason being was that he had his eye set on somebody else and would often think about whenever he was on his own.

Speaking of which…

"_I wonder how Android 18# is spending her day,"_ the short man thought curiously, taking a sip of his coffee while staring down at the table.

It'd been a while since he last saw her. Ever since the group left the balcony of Kami's Lookout two months ago, he swore he'd only seen her twice; once when he was training on another island and he swore he saw her watching him from a distant tree, and another time when he was out in the village doing shopping and he caught a glimpse of her in the streets.

Since then, there'd been no other signs of her. Complete and utter radio silence, which sort of brought the man's mood down a couple of pegs.

A heavy sigh escaping his lips as he absently stirred the contents of his cup, Krillin spared a moment of thought to the beautiful blonde android that had, for all intents and purposes, disappeared from the limelight. "Is she going to show up out of the blue and say 'hi' or something? It'd really make my day if she did." She did say that she would. To be more precise, she'd said to _all_ of the Z-fighters within ear shot while her back was turned to them that she would drop by to see _him_ sometime soon. It was a pretty comforting notion, "_Unless my heart's just playing tricks on me."_

Damn it. Being a love struck fool was not an easy thing to live with. It made him all gushy, paranoid and edgy.

"Well… I can't blame her if she's not interested in seeing me again. I mean, there _are_ a lot of better looking guys out there… and after all the crap we had to go through, I wouldn't be surprised if even _she_ just wanted to have a little bit of normal for a change," Krillin sighed, bringing his cup up and taking another sip. Pondering on the idea of a long term peace and what it would be like to spend with the blonde girl, the man looked up with a murmur…

He then did the most hilarious spit take ever when he saw Android 18# standing right there in front of him and made sure to aim the hot brew to the side.

"E-Eighteen!" the monk exclaimed in shock, drawing a few glances from the surrounding bystanders. Hitting his chest and coughing out the rest of his coffee, he looked up at the woman standing there with her arms folded, "W-What are you doing here?"

The cool beauty, wearing a casual set of clothes consisting of a pair of jeans and a black halter top, stared back at the man momentarily with her ocean blue eyes. After which, she then shrugged and looked away, "I was just…" She paused for a second, "walking around the shops and having a look around, seeing if there was anything new on sale. I then spotted you from outside and came in to see how you were doing." She said that in the same tone of voice she was best known for.

"Oh. Really?" Gulping and feeling his insides turn to jelly when she glanced his way, the man then mustered up whatever courage he could and smiled warmly in her direction. "I mean… that's great! It's… it's really good to see you again, Eighteen."

A bit of warmth appearing in her cheeks at the man's smile and words, the blonde looked away again in another direction. The two of them remained quiet for several moments, one rubbing his head and thinking about what else to say, while the other stood there, trying to focus on something else that wasn't the short Z-fighter.

After a bit of uncomfortable silence, the girl turned back to the warrior and nodded down to him, "You mind if I join you?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure! Of course," Krillin exclaimed, beaming enthusiastically as he hopped to his feet and pulled up a chair for the woman he hadn't seen for ages. When she sat down and tucked her hair behind her ear, the man came back around and sat down as well, looking completely nervous. "Would you like me to get you something?"

Finding a comfortable position, the woman then looked back at the man and smiled a very small smile. "Sure," she nodded. "I'll have a black tea. Plain."

Grinning, Krillin looked over to see the waiter come stand with his hands gingerly laced in front of him. "The lady will have a standard black tea, please. No sugar."

"Very good, sir," the young man nodded, before quickly hurrying off to tend to the order.

Gently nudging aside his cappuccino and leaning against the table, Krillin gazed across at the woman now sitting quietly across from him with her hands in her lap, "So…" He began nervously, "What've you been up to lately?"

The blonde android shrugged, "Not much, just up and down… trying to find some things and a place to fit in."

"How's that working out for yah?"

"Not very well I'm afraid," the woman replied with a distasteful frown. "I haven't been able to find my brother, wherever the hell he is… so I've been on my own for the past couple of months."

"You're not upset about it, are you? I mean…" Krillin quickly rephrased his question by clearing his throat, "Are you doing okay?"

"I can't complain," Eighteen answered, giving it a moment of thought while suddenly finding an interest in the wall across the way. "I've been moving around quite a lot lately, not really settling down anywhere, and I've had plenty of time to myself to think. After the whole Cell ordeal, I just needed a bit of space to clear my head." She then glanced at the martial artist, giving him a genuinely straight look, "And you? I heard you got into a bit of trouble at the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament _a month ago…"

"Oh? You heard about that, huh?" Krillin laughed uneasily while scratching his head, but then saw the woman staring at him without so much as a twitch. Swallowing a little, the monk continued, "Yeah… we got into a bit of a fight with this guy named Bojack and his gang, some hotshots who wanted to conquer the universe or something like that. I don't know… it was all pretty much of a blur to me. The person I ended up fighting knocked me out with just a few kicks and sent me into a wall."

Eighteen blinked, her expression relatively unchanged, "Are you alright?"

"Uh…" A little bit surprised by the woman's sudden question and seeing her staring at him with great intent, Krillin quickly came up with an answer, "Y-Yeah. I mean, I got a few nasty cuts and bruises here and there, but I'm feeling great now." He chuckled and brought his arm up, rotating it while gripping his shoulder. "It'll take more than a few hits to bring this guy down. Don't you worry about that."

This news brought a relieved sigh from the woman, who then gave the man another small smile, "Well… I'm just glad you're okay."

Noticing the strangely pleasant look she was giving him, Krillin remained speechless for a moment. But after a few seconds of gathering his thoughts, the man chuckled and rubbed his head, "Th-Thanks. I'm… glad to see you're doing okay as well."

Beaming, Eighteen was then about to move on to another question until something in the air suddenly startled both her and the Z-fighter out of their conversation. Eyes snapping upwards, the pair then leapt out of their seats, with the monk inadvertently knocking his over while the two of them focused all of their senses on the _thing_ that was fast approaching them. Sweat broke out on both their faces when they got a better read on it.

"S-So much power… what is that?" Krillin asked, looking absolutely stunned.

Whatever it was, it was heading straight towards them from above the planet…

XXX

Feeling the wind whipping at his hair as he traveled along at his regular speed, Son Gohan was making excellent progress towards Satan City. Looking down to see the land whiz past him in a sweeping montage, with the fields and valleys soon being replaced by farmlands and suburbs, the youngster spent the final leg of his journey taking in his surroundings, which he had seldom done in the past. Most of the time, whenever he'd been required to fly places, he'd always been in a hurry, never really taking the time to admire the countryside.

Now, with the opportunity presented to him, he could truly appreciate the sights and sounds of the planet around him. What made it an even greater splendor was the fact that it was peace time and he had no galactic threats to worry about.

"_I should take a page out of my dad's book and go for a trip around the world someday. See what's what,"_ Gohan thought, briefly recalling some of the stories his father had told him back when they'd been training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. After hearing about all of the amazing things his dad had done, it made him strongly consider doing something similar.

It'd sure be a worthwhile experience to have.

But just before Gohan could get completely engrossed in the pristine wilderness beneath him, he suddenly sensed something strange and looked up. Noticing he was approaching Satan City, he quickly realized this odd vibe wasn't coming from up ahead and looked towards the sky, above the towering buildings of the metropolis several kilometers away. When he did, he saw through his eagle eye vision an object passing through the atmosphere, trailing fire and smoke while plummeting towards the earth.

The demi-Saiyan balked. _"A meteorite?"_ Sensing a strange ki signature coming from it, Gohan immediately thought the object was volatile and, his eyes cutting from it to the city, the youngster realized it was on course for impact and picked up speed.

A sonic boom rang out when Gohan's body literally broke the sound barrier. The demi-Saiyan made sure to increase his speed enough to align with the falling object and, making a quick calculation in his head, gave it a burst just as he was entering the outskirts of the mega city.

Civilians down below turned their attention to the sky when they heard a series of loud 'cracks' ring out and looked up just in time to see the fireball plummeting towards them. Those directly underneath the falling object and could see it approaching their city immediately clamored in fright and began to move out of the streets. However, as panic started to ensue, what the people saw next came as an even bigger shock to them when, from out of nowhere, a teenager dressed in an orange and blue gi flew into view and tackled the meteorite out of the air.

The boy managed to intercept it when it was only ten feet away from colliding with the nearest skyscraper.

Upon catching the large, human sized sphere and stopping it from making landfall, which would have easily wiped out several blocks and skyscrapers, Gohan flew on. The flames extinguishing themselves as the orb was carried away from the city center, the young male breathed a sigh of relief, as he knew he'd just stopped a catastrophic disaster from befalling the people.

He then took a moment to inspect the object in his arms and saw that the metal sphere was silver, perfectly smooth, with grooves all over it that were glowing a hot orange.

It wasn't a meteorite, though it certainly looked extraterrestrial from a science fiction point of view.

But then, before the youngster could fully examine the strange object he'd stopped from hitting the metropolis, Gohan blinked in surprise when he suddenly saw a burst of steam escape the orb's channels before the ball started to unwrap itself in his arms. A split second later, the boy felt his fingers interlock with a pair of hands and recoiled in shock when, emerging from the dome, he found himself face to face with a beautiful girl about a couple years older than him, wearing a figure-hugging metallic plug suit with a curvaceous figure, and long, orange hair that glowed like the sun, which grew past her legs and was bellowing in the air around her.

A stunning girl with fire-like hair and the face of an angel being the last thing Gohan expected to come out of the pod as he continued his flight over the city, the demi-Saiyan was too stunned to react when the teenage alien removed her right hand from his and slammed a hook across his cheek. The blow crashed across Gohan's face with a thunderclap, cocking the boy's head to the side and causing him to lose control of his flight, sending both him and the girl he was pushing through the air spiraling into the city streets below.

With the sound of jets echoing across downtown, the pair crashed into the middle of the main highway with an earthshaking 'bang'. The impact drawing the attention of every single person on the street and the nearby buildings, the once two airborne people slid along the floor for several painful yards, kicking up a cloud of dust along the way. Then, grabbing the head of the girl on top of him, Gohan gave a loud yell and tossed her, throwing her down the street and spinning through the air.

Performing an acrobatic twirl to slow her down, Kana righted herself and slammed her feet into the tarmac, skidding to a stop and digging two trenches through the ground. Once her movement ceased, the fiery haired girl looked up to see Gohan flying straight at her, his fist loaded back for a punch. Taking a stance, Kana waited until he threw it before catching his arm and, using his momentum, spun him around and threw him back down the highway.

Yelping in surprise at the sudden counter toss, Gohan flew for half a kilometer before slamming into the concrete back first. Bouncing down the road a couple of times, the boy then leapt to his feet and slid backwards along the ground until he came to a smoky stop several hundred meters from where he first hit the highway. Cars coming down the road in both directions literally skidded to a stop at the sight of the 'jaywalker', with the drivers getting out of their vehicles to see what was going on.

A wall of dust blocking his view, Gohan took a stance and glared into the mist, searching for his foe. Several seconds later, just as the Z-fighter was preparing to go on the offensive, the cloud suddenly parted and the fiery haired girl came flying straight at him; tackling him in the chest and knocking him off his feet. A loud 'oof' escaped the demi-Saiyan's lips when he was knocked back for several yards before the pair collided with an eighteen wheeler's front, slamming into its grill and knocking the truck carrying the stack of cinder blocks into the row of cars behind it.

The people in the cars had to get out of the way to avoid the massive transporter from smashing into them.

Feeling his back wedged into the front of the vehicle, his small body squashing its engine like a pillow, Gohan gave a loud yell and slammed a right hook across the girl's face. The impact snapped her head to the side, the force of which causing a loud gunshot to echo throughout the neighborhood and the girl to stumble away, freeing the Saiyan from the corner.

Expression conveying momentary surprise, Kana turned back to glare at her opponent before, clenching her right fist, retaliated with a punch of her own, cracking the boy across the mug in a similar manner with a second artillery shot ringing out. Though the half-Saiyan recoiled, he immediately came back with another punch that the girl evaded.

The pair began to box; trading lightning fast punches that the two fighters blocked and parried respectively, until Kana over flourished a right straight that her opponent deftly caught. With her wrist in his grip, Gohan spun around her and caught the girl in a standing hammerlock with his left arm hooking around her neck.

With her back against his chest, the half-Saiyan increased pressure on the invader's arm in an attempt to force her into submission. However, just when it seemed like he had her, Kana's eyes suddenly widened, the orange channels on her armor flashed blue and, with a loud growl of effort, she engulfed both herself and her opponent in lightning.

"GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Gohan gave a cry of agony as he was electrocuted by the girl, the defensive countermeasure forcing him to release his opponent and freeing her from his hold.

Powering down, Kana spun around and pointed her hand at her stunned foe, unleashing a golden blast right into his chest. Gohan looked up just in time to catch the attack that sent him flying into a building.

Civilians screamed and barreled out of the way when the boy slammed into the concrete wall with an earsplitting 'crack', using the building's support to hold back the blast that continued to drill into his palms. Gritting his teeth against the burning sensation, Gohan eventually mustered the strength enough to push the beam away and deflect it into the sky. The blast detonated when it slammed into the top of the tower, taking out a chunk of the roof but managing to explode safely out of reach of any residents.

But then, the second the half-Saiyan deflected it, Gohan was unexpectedly struck in the chest by his opponent appearing and drilling into him with a blow that sent him blasting through every single wall of the office block behind him.

When the boy eventually exploded out the other side, he ended up smashing through a parked car, taking out its roof before crashing into the middle of the road.

"Ow. That hurt." Groaning as he laid there in a crumpled heap, the young Saiyan then looked up in shock when Kana suddenly appeared directly over him with her hand pointed down at his face.

Reacting instinctively from his prone position, Gohan slammed his foot into the side of her leg, tripping the girl at the last second and forcing her to release her blast into the ground, engulfing both of them in an explosion that choked the entire area with dust and smoke.

XXX

Managing to convince her dad quite easily to hand over his jet-copter, Videl wasted no time in unpacking it from its capsule and climbing on board. As soon as she shut the hatch and switched on the engine, she skillfully lifted it out of their mansion's backyard and into the air. It was no difficult task. Having learned how to operate it from an online manual, getting used to it firsthand only took her a few short minutes.

Upon stabilizing the craft, the girl then accessed the GPS and dialed in Gohan's home address. Finding it easily enough, she then maneuvered the copter and began flying in the direction of Mount Paozu. But just as she was in the process of leaving the center of the metropolis, a couple beams of light, smoke, and a series of explosions drew her attention downtown in the opposite direction.

Caught by surprise at the sight of the plumes of black smoke rising from the information district, the girl quickly came to the conclusion that those beams of deadly energy were no ordinary occurrence. In fact, she was pretty sure they were related to that extraterrestrial girl that'd just visited their house.

"_Something big is going on over there,"_ Videl thought, quickly changing course and heading in the direction of the explosions.

Whatever the hell was going on now, it was happening all over this damn country.

XXX

A concussive explosion sent Gohan spiraling through the twentieth floor of a telecommunications administration building, crashing through dozens of cubicles and office desks before he ended up landing in the middle of a large park. Lying sprawled out at the bottom of the crater, the half-Saiyan groaned and sprang to his feet, looking up to see the girl that'd blasted him fly over the same building, charge an energy ball above her head and fling it down at him.

Gritting his teeth, the boy clapped his hands together at his side and, stepping forward with a superb pivot, smashed the ball back at its user. "FORE!"

The approaching Kana had a split second to look surprised before her blast impacted against her chest and detonated, sending her spinning to the ground. Forming a crater in the same park, Gohan pumped his fist victoriously and watched the cloud of dust fade away. When it did, he saw his opponent step out of the hole she'd formed surrounded by dozens of terrified civilians, all of whom were now standing back to watch the fight taking place between the two super-powered beings.

Glaring across at her opponent with her hair wafting behind her like a flame, Kana smirked and patted down her chest. "A fine hit. Nice follow-through." Once ridding herself of the scorch mark, she quickly frowned and glared back at the boy, watching him take a stance and square off against her.

Narrowing his eyes, the young hybrid let out a yell and charged forward, blasting across the ground at high speed before swinging out at the alien with an overhand. However, the moment his fist came within range, he suddenly saw the girl's form light up a dazzling gold before, like a shot of lightning, she vanished in a flash. His fist passing through air, Gohan had a moment to let out a gasp of surprise before he received a kick to the side from his opponent reappearing right next to him, which sent him bouncing across the reserve like a ragdoll.

Hitting the ground about three times at an insane speed, the boy was about to right himself until a second blow to the back from his opponent teleporting in his path smacked him in another direction. Gohan's body crashed through several trees and smashed into a statue of Hercule Satan, smashing it to pieces while he hit the ground behind it.

Heading spinning from the sudden directional changes and body sore from the swift beating, Gohan struggled to his hands and knees with a groan. Shaking his head, the bruised and battered youngster frowned while he glared at the footpath beneath him. "Okay. That's new."

Super speed was one thing. But teleportation? This was the first time he'd actually had to fight somebody who could do that.

Sucking it up, the boy rose to his feet and glared across the park from where he'd come. When he did, he saw his opponent appear before him in a golden flash, floating a story above the ground several yards away, and looking down at him intensely. Once both were facing each other, the pair exchanged heated glares until one of them decided to break the ice.

"You're a lot stronger than I had anticipated," the girl spoke, tilting her head curiously at the young warrior. "Judging from the conditions of this planet, you're also far too strong to be an ordinary human. Why is that?" She then produced the same hologram scouter over her left eye, which began to scan and analyze the boy a little more closely. After the flickering lights in the screen ended a few seconds later, Kana raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You have the characteristics of a human, but many of your other physical traits classify you as a Saiyan." She then smiled vibrantly, "You're a hybrid, aren't you?"

Gohan, a little caught off guard by her incredibly accurate analysis, smiled back at her, "Yeah. I'm a half-breed. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all. I'm just a little bit surprised to see that there's a Saiyan living in this part of space. Ever since the destruction of their home world, Saiya-jins have become an incredibly rare species in the universe. I've only ever seen ten others like you in the last decade," Kana replied, her scouter flickering some more before deactivating altogether. "It certainly answers the question as to why you're so strong… and why Frieza was probably killed."

Gohan furrowed his brow in obvious dislike of that name, "You knew that monster?"

"I knew him, yes, but only by reputation. We only ever had one meeting with each other and that was many years ago," the girl informed before bringing her right hand up and opening it at her side. When she did, she began gathering energy, which had her palm start to glow. It was a sight that put Gohan on immediate guard. "But let's stop talking about Frieza. I'm more interested in seeing what else you can do."

Just as the demi-Saiyan was about to guard against another attack, an explosion struck Kana in the side that sent the alien rocketing across the park. Plowing a trench into the floor when she landed, the girl expertly used her momentum to leap out of the dirt and back onto her feet. Body smoking from the surprise attack, she glared up to see several more figures descend from the sky and blinked in surprise at what she saw.

Floating at a vantage point side by side, she saw the spiky haired form of a man in Saiyan battle-armor and a lavender haired young man in black pants and a vest. Floating alongside them she also saw a green warrior in a purple gi, with a white turban on his head and a cape with a wide shoulder frame. And then, landing on the ground beneath them, she spotted a blonde haired woman in a trendy outfit and a short, bald man in casual clothing, both of them coming to stand defensively in her line of sight.

Blinking in surprise, Kana smirked, "My, my… this planet certainly is full of surprises." She said this while watching the newcomers land around Gohan, who took up formation in the center of their group while they all focused their attention on the foreigner.

"So you're the one causing all the fuss around here," Piccolo spoke, his cape ruffling on the breeze. "Makes sense since you're obviously an out-of-towner. But you certainly put on quite a show for us up there."

Beads of sweat running down his head as he looked the radiant stranger over, Krillin glanced across at the others, "Yeah but… what is she?" He looked back at the girl and made note of her glowing hair. "She's not like any alien I've ever seen before." Of the many races they were able to meet during their battle against Frieza and his horde, this one differed from every single one of them in many extremely noticeable ways.

Of course, being the one to have the most knowledge in this regard, the ever imposing Vegeta stepped forward. "She's a Seirei," the prince spoke, drawing glances from the Z-fighters around him and narrowing his glare, "A very rare and old race from a planet close to the centre of the universe. Their people have an incredibly strong life force, able to live for hundreds of years without growing old. They also possess incredibly advanced technology and are born with the ability to manipulate light." This information had the entire group regard this new figure with a little more caution, which then led Vegeta into another important segment. "They don't stray too far from their world either. All Seirei prefer to stay close to one another and away from the affairs of other planets."

"Then what's this one doing so far from home?" Piccolo asked, arms folded and his serious expression unchanged.

Grunting, the man with the flame-style haircut looked across at the girl with his game face in full play. Figuring he'd beaten around the bush enough, the ill-tempered Saiyan moved forward once again. "It's been a long time, Kana."

Appearing unsurprised by the appearance of the man, the orange haired invader smiled, "It certainly has been, Prince Vegeta."

Gohan glanced across at his dad's rival curiously, "You know her?"

"Yes. We met over twenty years ago, back when my people were still pushing papers for that chrome dome of a former boss of mine," the Saiyan royal responded, narrowing his eyes. "I was a kid back then, but I remember seeing her when she was visiting my father's palace to discuss business regarding our planet and its inhabitants. She was a bit of an airhead then and she still looks like an airhead now." His remark earned a playful grin from the glowing girl, which had all the Z-fighters present sweat drop, including Eighteen. "But don't be fooled by her appearance. She is incredibly strong, somebody who Frieza detested but wouldn't dare to cross. Even after all this time, she looks like she hasn't aged a day."

"Seriously?" Krillin looked a little gob smacked at that, turning to stare at the radiant being in the sophisticated plug suit. "Twenty years ago, right? She still looks like she's sixteen!"

"She ages gracefully, that's for sure," Trunks voiced in, narrowing his gaze on the long haired alien, "But that doesn't explain the reason for her being here and why she's not on her home planet."

This was yet another question that was easy to answer. "It's because she's a wanderer," Vegeta went on, stopping any and all other remarks in their tracks, "Rogue, drifter, whatever you want to call her. She's a freelancer-slash-explorer who traipses about the universe visiting other worlds and studying their cultures. She also moonlights as a member of the _Planet Trade Organization_, the one that Frieza and his family was formerly a part of. If I remember correctly, this girl was charged with the inquisition and acquisition of rare and valuable planets. Her main job for the group was to determine whether or not the security of a planet and its inhabitants were in good hands, and whether the guardian of the world, otherwise known as the strongest warrior on the planet, was able to meet the organization's standards for chief overseer of that region."

"Huh. Sounds like a big job," Gohan commented.

"If you like to call it that. Frankly, I like to think of it as a fun weekend; hopping from planet to planet and beating the stuffing out of the strongest people on them," Vegeta said, at the same time narrowing his eyes. "Basically, if the guardian of the planet fails to meet the inquirer's standards, then she takes the planet for herself, transports it, and sells it to another galaxy to be safe guarded, until the role of protector can be passed on to somebody who is deemed worthy."

This quickly had Krillin's attention. "Sh-She takes planets and sells them? How?" Even Eighteen appeared a little bit surprised.

"Using her home world's technology, she's able to compress entire worlds into code and transport them via ship, which is floating above our heads as we speak," Vegeta informed, prompting a couple members of the group to turn their gazes skywards before focusing back on the person in front of them. The sight of her standing there with her glowing orange head brought a spit from the flame-haired man. "In my opinion I think that's a very stupid practice. It's basically the organization's way of playing God with every single person in the universe."

"I think so too," Kana spoke up, alerting the group to her presence once more while she stood there, perfectly still, with a curious smile on her face. "But I'm not interested in what the organization does, which is why I only work for them part time. I'm just in it for the money." She said this while tilting her head and giving the group a very cute look. "I left my home planet a long time ago to explore the universe and to take in everything there was to see… not to mention have as much fun along the way as possible. Since I'm a security investigator, the last thing I want to do is wreck a perfectly good planet such as this one. That's the demolition department's job… which of course happens to be the same section that your group terminated when you killed Frieza and his family. So you don't have to worry about the earth being destroyed by me. Something like that will just depreciate its value."

Okay, so while this girl loved planets and wanted to avoid destroying them, she also worked for cold hard cash as a mercenary. On one hand she was cheerful and polite, but on the other hand was a calculative gun-for-hire.

To the Z-fighters, this girl had a very odd moral compass guiding her.

So much for black and white. This one was living entirely within the grey area, despite being all bright and cheerful.

"Yet you are willing to abduct planets and put them into zoos for auction?" Trunks replied, gritting his teeth while balling his fists. "You can't decide whether or not a planet has to be protected. That kind of decision and control shouldn't be given to one person. That's for the people living on the world to decide."

"I agree," Gohan replied, also narrowing his eyes.

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way," Kana exclaimed, raising her hands defensively and giving them all a nervous look at their growing hostility towards her. "I'm a very fair person and I don't usually move planets that often. It all depends on their rarity that the organization requires a person be sent to investigate, which is only ever done once every couple hundred thousand years. That's why they hire me, since I have all the right tools and strengths to determine whether or not a planet is safe." She then looked back at them when she saw them settle a bit. "That's the way things work. I get paid either way, so there's always a bonus involved; one service charge and one delivery fee."

Piccolo gave her a deadpanned expression, "How very equitable of you."

"I only use the right amount of strength to determine whether or not a planet is in good hands. I very rarely have to exceed my limits," Kana continued, beaming back at the Z-warriors before a more mischievous smile crossed her lips. "Of course, for this case… I may have to make a special exception." When she saw the group respond nervously and seriously to her remark, the girl once again produced her scouter and began making passes on her opponents. She glanced across at Krillin, "You have a power reading of 8,000,000 riki; an amazing level for a human." Her eyes then fell upon Eighteen, whom she scrutinized carefully. "No life force. I assume you have an artificial framework, but your body appears mostly human. You even have internal organs."

The group looked surprised, with Gohan glancing across at the blonde haired woman. "She can read power levels that well?"

"So it appears," Eighteen replied sternly.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with her tech," Piccolo voiced in, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

Kana then turned on him, which brought a surprised look to her face when she analyzed him more closely, "A Namekian. There's one living all the way out here?"

The green-skinned warrior glared back at her, "Technically I was born on this planet. This is my home just as much as it is everyone else's."

"Fair enough," Kana replied, her scouter beeping and drawing a whistle from her lips. "You're not afraid of hiding, aren't you? 60,000,000 riki. That's astonishingly high for a member of your race. Most impressive." She then looked over at the remaining three and beamed when she analyzed each of them through her visor. "All three of you have Saiyan traits, especially Vegeta. I'm guessing he's the only full-blooded Saiyan on this planet." Her attention then fell upon Trunks, "And judging from your facial contours and build, you must be Prince Vegeta's son."

The time traveler had the common sense to appear surprised, "You could get all that from just one look?"

"It's one of my skills," Kana then tilted her head, gauging all of their power levels and eventually stopping. "The two of you are registering around 10,000,000 riki respectively… while your friend…" She then looked at Gohan, who was still glaring seriously at her. "Your power level is hovering at around 15,000,000 riki." She looked around at all of them, taking in each of their forms. "So many rare races living harmoniously on one planet…"

Piccolo frowned back at her, "Well… what can we say? We've all learned to live with each other." Still though, there was such an odd variation in the numbers she was giving them. She was obviously using a low reading setting for higher tone figures so that she didn't overload her system. Her results also coincided with this new riki value she was using.

Shrugging, the fire haired girl continued, "All of you have power levels that could definitely have given Frieza and his family a lot of trouble. While that's certainly extraordinary, considering his level is around the 12,000,000 mark, I'm going to venture a guess that it was the Namekian who destroyed him, since he's the strongest one here." A laugh then pulled her gaze over to Vegeta.

The Saiyan Prince smirked back at her arrogantly, "Guess again, Kana, but the Namekian's power level didn't reach that level until only recently."

"Oh?"

"Let's just say his strength is a little bit slow on the uptake. And it wasn't the Namek that killed Frieza either…" He then glanced across at Trunks, whose glare remained unchanged even when the girl's gaze fell upon him, "It was this one."

This statement drew a blink from the girl, "So… it was a Saiyan after all." She then deactivated her scouter and frowned suspiciously. "But that doesn't make much sense. Your power levels must have grown substantially since the time you fought that lizard all those years ago, which means you must have been a lot weaker when your group first faced Frieza." Kana then frowned, "Unless… there's something about you lot that I just can't see…"

Gohan, guessing what her problem must be, smiled in the confused alien's direction. "You know, you really shouldn't rely on your technology to read a person's power level. It's not only incredibly inaccurate; it also has a ton of flaws and doesn't give you the full scope of the person's abilities." When he saw Kana turn to him, the boy grinned, "For one, it's a really outdated system. And secondly…" Focusing his ki, the demi-Saiyan clenched his fists and widened his stance as the atmosphere around him suddenly began to churn. Then, with a sudden yell of effort and an influx of energy, a golden aura exploded from his body and he jumped straight into Super Saiyan, his transformation cracking the ground at his feet and kicking up dust. While Trunks, Vegeta and Piccolo didn't appear surprised in the least, Krillin and 18# did, whereas Kana was caught completely off guard by the boy's unexpected alteration.

Aura fluctuating around him, the now blonde haired Gohan grinned, "It can really let you down when it counts."

Following his lead, Vegeta and Trunks also powered up, the former keeping his arms crossed when his aura shot up and his muscle mass increased, and the latter going through a momentary effort to transform. Both of them bulked up slightly and their hair spiked, indicating they jumped straight into their 2nd Grade Super Saiyan forms. Piccolo meanwhile removed his cape and turban, tossing it on the wind while a blue aura exploded from his body, joining the other three in their display of power increase. Krillin also followed suit, his white aura jumping around his body as both he and Android 18# assumed fighting stances.

The civilians scattered around the area stared in awe at the performance and began clamoring amongst each other excitedly at the sight of the now glowing super humans. It became obvious to many of them that the people they were now looking at were the same fighters that'd appeared at both the Cell Games and the Intergalactic Tournament, and knew right away that they were in for one hell of a show.

While everyone else maintained their distance Videl, who'd managed to land her jet-copter on the edge of the park and capsulated it, had finally arrived on the scene and was now looking across at the group in amazement. Having only witnessed this display on television, the daughter of the great Hercule Satan was now seeing their transformations up close and personal for the first time ever. Since all of them had their attention focused strictly on the alien invader, the raven haired fighter was given a full, unobstructed view of all of them, especially Gohan who, cool as ever, stood in the center of their formation.

"Wow… so this is what their powers look like?" Videl murmured, remaining on the edge of the park and off to the side. Even though she couldn't sense spirits like they could, she could still feel the incredible vibrations in the air. It was absolutely overwhelming.

Appearing surprised by this sudden development, Kana began analyzing the group's transformations with her scouter. "That unique hair coloration and aura, did they… just transform into Super Saiyans?" Her numbers flying off the scale, the young girl narrowed her gaze before a grin formed on her face. "Amazing. I've heard about the Saiyan's ability to undergo this kind of transformation from the old records, but I've never seen one in real life. All of your power levels have multiplied exponentially." She quickly deactivated her scanner and clenched her fists. "But that also means I was right on the mark. All of you are able to conceal your true powers exceedingly well. I'm assuming it has something to do with fitting in with earth's society."

Vegeta smirked across at her while his aura warped around him, "We exercise a lot of control. It's a great way to stay focused."

"And it keeps us from damaging stuff," Gohan added, despite remembering the time he'd broken the door in his house while he was in a controlled Super Saiyan state. _That_ was embarrassing.

"Amazing. Now I can see why Frieza was destroyed. He got his tail handed to him by a Super Saiyan," the girl exclaimed in a low voice, looking from one concentrated face to the next before another wide grin formed on her lips. "I don't have to fight you all to see that this world is well-protected. However… since this is such a rare terrestrial planet and it's been such a long time since I've actually had to cut loose… I think I'll cancel my next appointment and have a little bit of fun while I'm here." Bringing suspicious looks to the men in front of her, the fire haired alien wordlessly brought her hands out and rotated her wrists. Then, after balling her fingers into fists, Kana concentrated hard and spoke up. "Removing restraining bolts one through six." A series of steam bursts shooting off of her suit, a couple of the glowing circular nodes on her outfit popped out, rotated, and sunk back into their hosts like needle injections.

It was a sight that had the Z-fighters in front of the woman recoil in surprise, as they suddenly sensed an enormous surge of power.

Like the combination to a lock being undone, Kana allowed her energy to explode forth from her body. With a yell of effort and pain, a bright, golden aura of her own exploded from her lithe form and instantaneously punched a twenty meter wide crater into the ground beneath her. The shockwave she emitted sent a gale of wind blasting in all directions, causing the group of fighters in front of her to brace, while at the same time knocking several human civilians off their feet. Videl on the other hand, had to hang onto a tree as the ground shook fiercely and the winds ripped at the ground around her, sending debris pelting everywhere.

Her golden aura transforming into a funnel that shot up into the sky and cleared the atmosphere of clouds, the alien girl's hair blew upwards, bellowing violently while the orange channels in her suit shone and pulsed with energy. The power up lasting for several long seconds, the aura surrounding Kana eventually vanished, leaving the girl hovering there with a radioactive golden glow wafting off of her body.

Though her outward appearance remained unchanged, the Z-fighters in front of her were gob smacked by what had occurred inside of her.

Kana grinned. "Ah yes. That's much better. I haven't removed these bolts in years. It feels so good to stretch my legs."

"H-Holy crap," Krillin exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror as he stared across at the girl. "A-Are you guys sensing what I'm sensing?"

Gritting his jaw, Vegeta gave a low growl as he got a full blast of the girl's energy level, "Stop sniveling you coward and stay on your guard!" While this order sounded brave, the man's confidence was currently shaky.

Trunks was also beside himself, "Her energy level just… _exploded_. It must have multiplied at least a dozen times over."

Teeth and fists clenched, Gohan kept his stance as he glared at the woman bathed in the ethereal energy in front of them. Despite how young and unassuming she appeared, her energy spoke definitely brought sweat to the half-Saiyan's face. "She's been hiding her real power this entire time." He shook his head in disbelief. _"Incredible… her energy is almost as high as Cell's was when he came back after blowing himself up."_ Hell, she trumped Bojack and his gang by miles.

Keeping a safe distance from the battle zone, not only were the discombobulated civilians and Videl looking on in astonishment, but on top of a nearby building, a comfortably perched Zangya could be seen staring down at the field with her arms folded. At first having only followed Gohan out here to observe him and maybe see if she could get some answers out of him, the ever scrupulous Hera then had the unique pleasure of watching him save a city before starting a fight with an alien traveler that was completely mindboggling in appearance and ability.

In spite of her confident stance while staring down at the park where the Z-fighters were assembled, the blue-skinned former gangster was in absolute disbelief at what she was seeing and sensing.

"_W-Who the heck is this chick?"_

Taking in the stunned faces in front of her from Vegeta to the blonde haired woman at the end, Kana remained hovering in place for a moment before folding her arms over her chest and smirking. "If that's all the power you six can muster, than I'm afraid you're at an extreme disadvantage." Then, without even the slightest bit of movement, warning or effort, six golden, basketball sized spheres of energy formed in orbit around her. Once they appeared in rotation of the glowing Seirei, they then shot towards the transformed warriors all at once, forcing the group to take evasive maneuvers.

Blurring out, the team vanished into super speed to avoid the six energy rounds that collided with the ground, causing a catastrophic explosion that engulfed half of the park and sent a huge mushroom shaped fireball hurling into the air. The shockwave rocked the entire city to its core, scaring the daylights out of people and causing screams to ring out with the earthquake.

Seeing smoke eventually replace the explosion, Kana smiled and looked up to see the Saiyans and the Namekian reappear in the sky above. Watching them scatter, she began marking each of them.

Of course, the girl casually craning her head to look up presented a big enough opening for Android 18# to reappear out of thin air and slam a fist straight into Kana's face. A crack of a gunshot echoing out on impact, instead of seeing the girl stumble under the force, the blonde was stumped to see she hadn't budged an inch.

For comparative sakes, it was like hitting a wall.

Gritting her teeth, the beautiful fighter pulled her fist back and began uncorking a flurry of lightning fast attacks upon the levitating alien. Fists and kicks impacted all over the teen's body from head to knee in a blur, slamming into her one after the other at a machinegun rate. After putting all the effort she could into each blow, Android 18# finished up with a right cross into the girl's still craned head, before eventually kicking off of her face and leaping away.

When she landed several yards from the crater, Eighteen panted exhaustedly, watching as Kana's gaze then turned towards her.

After all her effort, she didn't even make her flinch.

"She's a monster. Why the hell am I putting my life on the line to fight this bitch?"

Before she could fully comprehend the magnitude of what she'd gotten herself into, Krillin suddenly teleported behind the invader with a shout and a kick to the back of her head, followed immediately by a punch. When Kana didn't budge, the man hovered behind her in shock.

"What the?" Baffled by her unregistering to his presence, just like Eighteen before him, the man let loose a storm of punches and kicks, the sound of rapid gunfire ringing out as he orbited the girl and dropped on her an ass kicking of a life time. But try as he might, he couldn't get her to move a millimeter.

Gritting her own teeth and sucking it in, Android 18# flew forward and joined Krillin in his assault, bombarding the girl from all sides with an onslaught of landscape reducing blows. Several seconds rolled by and nothing, with the other Z-fighters hovering up in the air gawking at how useless the pair's attacks were. Even the civilians were baffled by what was going on.

Eventually finding their conventional punches useless, Android 18# and Krillin leapt away from her and got some distance. The moment she touched down, the blonde female threw both hands forward and unleashed a powerful, golden blast that slammed into Kana's back. A concussive explosion rang out, but when the smoke cleared moments later, she saw it'd done nothing, stunning the cyborg.

Desperate, Krillin threw his right hand up and produced a golden disk, which spun and hummed loudly like a beam sword. "Chew on this!" the man roared, taking aim at the alien invader before hurling it straight at her. _**"Destructo Disk!"**_ With a crack of wind, he pitched his attack straight at their opponent in a wide arc, his signature move humming dangerously as it shot through the air before homing in on the fiery haired girl's neck.

When it struck, sparks flew, and Krillin grinned victoriously at making a direct hit. But then, much to his disbelief, he saw his disk shatter into millions of pieces and the shards dissipate on the wind, leaving Kana completely unscathed.

"Huh? B-But how?" Krillin choked out.

It was the same scene all over again. Just like against Cell.

Not willing to give up yet, Android 18# took off from her spot and flew at the girl from behind, letting out a battle cry as she threw another right straight. However, instead of hitting her target, her fist struck nothing when Kana moved at the last millisecond, uncrossed her arms, and caught the woman's arm in midflight. Then, without any effort at all, the Seirei twisted the taller woman around and snapped her arm into a hammerlock with a sickening crunch, causing a cry of agony to escape Eighteen's lips.

Eyes glazed over in shock, the blonde was unable to defend herself when an elbow to her back sent her bouncing across the park.

"No!" Krillin shouted, flying forward and intercepting the Android. Getting in front of her, he managed to catch the woman before she could reach the end of the park and fly into a parked truck, the force of her momentum causing him to slide back a few feet. When he successfully stopped her flight, the bald fighter quickly looked to see if she was okay.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was alive, the fair android giving an unconscious groan of pain, and looked up to glare at the celestial girl still floating above her crater. Even after all their effort, they hadn't been able to put a single dent in her.

Kana smiled at the human for his courageous effort, only to then look up when a flash of light caught her attention. Setting her gaze skywards, she saw a volley of golden blasts raining towards her and teleported in a flash, allowing the attacks to slam into the ground instead. Another earthshaking explosion rocked Satan City, punching another fissure into the park and filling the square with smoke.

After firing off their blasts, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo and Trunks then spun around when they sensed the girl reappear in the sky behind them. When she flickered into view, she was grinning at them with her arms comfortably folded over her generous bust.

"Those two aren't the ones I want to fight," Kana replied confidently.

Snarling at the smug look she sent their way, Vegeta loaded his stance in midair and powered up, "Don't mock us, you witch!" He then rocketed forward, along with Trunks, Piccolo and Gohan, all three of them bathed in their auras and joining the assault.

From the ground, Videl and the civilians could see the fight taking place high above them in the form of indistinct streaks of lights and blurs.

The attacking Z-fighters scattered and circled the girl at a distance, marking her as she floated in place with an unchanging expression. Then, once they were certain they had her zeroed, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo flew straight at her from three sides. They each struck out at the alien traveler with yells from left, right and behind, either throwing a punch or a flying kick. But, just when it seemed like they would hit her, the girl's long, glowing orange hair suddenly came to life and coiled around her protectively, blocking their attacks simultaneously.

Their blows completely cushioned by the obstruction, the trio looked up in surprise. Then, as they continued to press into the soft yet robust barrier, a flash of light from up high drew Kana's gaze skywards again, where she suddenly saw Gohan teleport into view with a blue sphere of energy in his palm. Cocking the ball back and taking aim, the boy dove straight down at the Seirei and thrust the attack into her head with a roar.

"_**KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAA!"**_ The young Super Saiyan bellowed out and slammed the single-handed attack straight into the girl at pointblank range… or so he thought.

A massive shockwave rippled out in a blinding, blue flash that shook the sky and land when Gohan's sphere impacted his stationary target. It was only a few seconds later did he realize he was actually grinding it into a golden shield that had unexpectedly appeared around the girl at the last second to stop him.

His attack drilling into the barrier just a foot above her cranium for several tense seconds, Kana then gave a grunt and expanded her defensive barrier. The force of the sudden expansion of energy not only detonated the close-range blast upwards, but sent all four fighters spiraling away at incredible speed. They all let out yelps of surprise as they were sent flying backwards through Satan City's airspace, before eventually managing to stop and look back at their target.

Her hair returning to bellow behind her, Kana tilted her head. "Good teamwork. What else have you got?"

Aura blasting off of him, Piccolo charged two spheres of energy in his hands and, flying around to the front yet keeping a safe distance from his target, opened up with a barrage of continuous energy balls. "Scatter Shot!" he bellowed, grunting again and again as he hurled attacks at the girl.

At first Kana thought the spheres were going to hit her. But instead, the girl watched on with interest when the attacks suddenly veered away and began scattering throughout the sky. The barrage of dozens of golden spheres continued for several seconds, until the entire sky around her was filled with glowing orbs like stars in the sky. Vegeta, Trunks and a singed Gohan made sure to keep their distance when Piccolo finally finished dispersing the attacks.

Throwing his hands out, the Namekian gave a loud yell and crossed them over. _**"Makuhoidan!" **_All at once, Kana saw the scattered spheres curl through the air and converge on her position, collapsing and raining down on her from all sides. The Z-fighters thought it was a sure hit. But the second the spheres came within range, the same golden shield Kana had used before sprang up around her and caught the attacks in one go.

When the spheres dug in, Kana gave another, careless grunt and blasted her shield outwards, sending the spheres scattering through the sky. Piccolo, Vegeta and everyone else had to avoid the onslaught of blasts when they shot past them, flew outside the city, and bombarded the countryside like meteors. Dome shaped explosions lit up the lands surrounding the metropolis and shook the entire nation, causing the people on the ground to brace themselves against the tremendous earthquake.

"That's it!" Vegeta shouted, powering up and charging forward with a yell. "YOU'RE MINE, KANA!"

Gohan's eyes widened in alarm. "VEGETA! WAIT!"

Arcing through the air, the Saiyan Prince flew straight at Kana from the front, the girl smiling when the man greeted her with a swinging jab. The punch crashed into her shoulder when she turned to parry it, her arms remaining crossed over her chest while the man began assaulting her with a lightning fast flurry of attacks. Punches and kicks shot through the air and rained down like artillery rounds on the celestial warrior, the sound of multiple gunshots ringing out with every impact. However, when it seemed like Vegeta was actually landing hits, in reality his opponent was simply slipping them and blocking them with her shoulders, smiling all the while as she retreated at a casual pace and parried each blow in turn.

When Vegeta ended with a kick that crashed into her shoulder with a loud 'bang', a complete unfazed Kana decided she'd had enough of blocking and decided to attack.

The retaliation came in a blur of motion. With a shout she threw a roundhouse kick that crashed across the man's face, sending spit flying from his mouth as well as a shout of pain. The girl then floated forward, slammed another kick into the man's stomach, before hovering over him and dropping a knee into his spine. Cries of agony escaping the prince's lungs, Kana then finished up with a sweeping kick straight up into his head, a finisher that generated a thunderclap and sent Vegeta flying over the city and into a distant hillside, where he crashed in a cloud of rubble and dust.

Wincing after seeing the Saiyan Prince pretty much get his ass handed to him, Zangya turned back to glare up at the sky.

As shocking as the battle was turning out to be so far, the orange haired woman couldn't help but wonder to herself.

"_Well… I have options. I could just sit here and watch the super friends get their butts toasted by this overpowered freak of nature,"_ the Hera-seijin girl thought before her eyes focused on Gohan flying high above. _"Or I can step in, help them out… and then bugger that brat over why he spared my life."_ The group had pretty much let her live on this planet following the whole Bojack incident. In the month Zangya had already spent here, she'd actually grown to like this place, even if she was impartial to what these idiots did in their off time. This was the perfect opportunity for her to return the favor and get in good with the group.

She remembered all too well what'd happened when her previous team went up against these guys. Things just spiraled into chaos in the span of one afternoon.

However, as much as she wanted to jump in and give them some assistance, this person that they were up against was in a whole other league of trouble. She didn't need extra-sensory abilities to figure that out. So, for the time being, Zangya decided to stand back and see how this whole thing played out.

If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to step in.

Smirking in the direction of the fallen Saiyan Prince, Kana then turned to see Gohan appear in front of her and slam a left hook across her face with earth splitting force. Managing to smack her head to the side with a loud 'crack', the boy pressed home his advantage and, with a yell, smashed two more hooks across her face, stunning the invader.

Actually feeling the attacks yet keeping her arms crossed, Kana gritted her teeth and, blocking another of his punches with her knee, shot forward and head butted him in the face. The blow crashed into the half-Saiyan and sent him flying backwards, where he was then promptly replaced by Trunks flying in with a punch.

Effortlessly leaping over the young warrior in mid-swing, Kana slammed a kick across his face and sent the time traveler rocketing backwards, trailing blood.

While he was flying, Mirai threw his hands forward and began an erratic series of arm movements. Upon which he then crossed them over and threw them forward so that the thumbs and index fingers touched, forming a diamond shape. _**"Burning Attack!" **_Fingers splayed, the half-Saiyan launched a ball of golden energy straight at the girl, which shot through the air at an alarming speed.

Kana though, wasn't deterred. Without so much as a blink, the girl threw her hair forward and caught the energy sphere, holding it for a moment before spinning and pitching it behind her. The attack ended up slamming into Piccolo attempting to strike her from behind, detonating against his chest with concussive force. The Namekian yelled as he was sent flying out of the blast radius, heavily burnt and trailing smoke.

Yelling out, Gohan came powering towards the girl with a wide hook, attempting to hit her in the back of the head. Kana ducked the blow, allowing the demi-Saiyan to pass overhead before throwing her hair up and wrapping it around his head and eyes. Stopping him in his flight and shutting down his aura, the young Saiyan gave a yelp of surprise as he was forcefully pulled around before having a roundhouse kick unloaded in his face, sending him spinning away. After dispersing of him, Kana spun around and kicked an approaching Trunks in the chest, before then spinning in the air and kneeing an incoming Piccolo in the cranium.

Shockwaves rang out from every hit that connected, the power of each blow rattling the Z-fighters' and effectively destroying all attempts to bring down their opponent. Eventually, the onslaught of unsuccessful attacks soon stopped and the group of powerful Z-fighters ended up floating around the completely undamaged Kana, bruised, bleeding from their faces and looking beaten all to hell.

Even Vegeta, who'd managed to pick himself out of the ditch he'd made, was covered in dirt and bruises.

"I admire your spirit. You four certainly have the strength and skill to give some of the most powerful beings in the universe a lot of trouble. But as good as you are, it'll take a lot more than skill and effort to bring someone like me down," Kana informed, keeping her arms crossed before allowing a cheerful grin to form on her face. "Since you've been throwing such fancy attacks my way, I think I'll throw one back at you. Try this on for size…" She then vanished in a golden flash, disappearing completely from the battered group's radar before reappearing a couple kilometers away. Once there, the girl then performed a graceful twirl, ascending higher into the sky while her hair whipped around her like a streamer. Then, with her hair's glow intensifying, she performed one last spin and hurled her attack. _**"Flash Storm!"**_

From her hair, the girl unleashed a barrage of small energy spheres numbering in the millions, straight down at her targets positioned far below. The attack flew at them like a wall of machinegun fire, alarming the group of Z-fighters and forcing them to evade. Moving erratically through the air in different directions, Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo avoided the hail of countless, tiny spheres as best as they could, unable to counter due to the spread and quantity of blasts being hurled their way.

Gohan, ducking and slipping between waves of incapacitating shots, looked in the direction the attacks were going, feeling immediate concern for the safety of the city far below. The young Saiyan saw through his peripheral vision the millions of blasts curve through the air, overshoot the city on all sides, and end up peppering the landscape outside of the metropolis. Relieved that their opponent was aiming her attacks away from the people, the boy could then completely concentrate on evading the rain of death.

Far below, the population of Satan City gazed in awe as the sky lit up with a golden hail of energy, which flew overhead like a meteor shower, only a thousand times more beautiful and at a much closer proximity to their planet.

Zangya and Videl both stared in shock at the sheer amount of attacks that'd been thrown, while Krillin, still cradling the heavily injured Android 18# on the ground, watched the terrifying sight closely with wide eyes.

The short man clenched his jaw tightly, wondering how his friends were going to combat such a powerful adversary. "Come on Gohan, Trunks, Piccolo… hang in there…" Knowing he was completely outclassed in this battle, there was nothing he could do except wait it out and hope for the best.

Managing to get above the storm as the attack faded, Gohan and Piccolo powered up and shot towards Kana's position at full speed. Rocketing towards her like missiles, the pair came alongside one another so that they were within earshot.

"Piccolo! We have to hit her with a combined attack from both sides!" Gohan shouted, eliciting a nod from the man.

"Yeah! You hit her high, I'll hit her low!"

They then broke up, flying up to spots around the girl at a distance.

Kana, passive as ever, remained in place, watching with a curious smile as the two warriors split up and began charging their next attacks. Wanting to see what they were planning to do, she decided to just float there and observe as their strategy unfolded.

"Eat this!" Piccolo bellowed, fanning his hands over his forehead and throwing it back. _**"MAKOSEN-HA!"**_ He then threw his hands forward and unleashed a powerful, orange blast that rocketed towards the girl from behind, while Gohan took her from above.

Cranking back his right hand, Gohan's aura exploded around him before he unleashed his own move, _**"KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAA!"**_ A powerful blue blast exploded from his hand and flew down at his target like a small comet.

The two simultaneous blasts slammed into the girl from two sides and sandwiched her in between, the users continuing to feed energy into their attacks while she floated there, taking their best shots to the body. The attacks colliding against her lithe form generated a blinding light that filled the entire sky, letting everyone in the area know that something big was going on.

While Gohan and Piccolo kept her cornered, Vegeta and Trunks joined them, the former taking the side with his hands held out while the other took the fourth corner.

Slamming his hands together, the time-traveling warrior powered up and with a roar, unleashed a golden beam of energy that streaked towards their target. _**"BUSTER CANNON!"**_

"_**GALLICK GUN!"**_ Vegeta roared seconds later, throwing his hands forward and unleashing a purple blast that rocketed to the center.

The two beams connected with the others, joining the other two and beginning to smother their target from all around. The flaring light increased tenfold and the trembling in the earth magnified as well. With the sound of thunder breaking out across the skies, the four-way blast continued to grind into the single target for a full, glorious minute until the warriors poured everything they had into one final spurt and sent it in all at once. The extra power flew down the beams to the middle, where they met with a volatile result.

A nuke went off several kilometers above Satan City in the form of a ringed explosion that traveled outwards, blinding everyone with a white light and shaking the earth under the force. People in the streets cried out in terror as another earthquake hit them, whereas Videl, Zangya and Krillin watched and waited for the blast to fade.

All of that power put together into a single, intersecting shot. They must have done something with it!

Watching the fiery explosion fade and become replaced by smoke, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta and Trunks waited for the air to clear. All of them looking absolutely battered from their one-sided fight with the girl, the team of fighters were hoping that their combined attacks had managed to do some kind of damage to the cocky traveler. There were very few people out there that could have stood up to something like that.

Even Cell in his ultimate form would have flinched.

But then, just when it seemed like they'd managed to take the girl out, their jaws dropped when they saw the fumes clear and Kana emerge from the mist. When the sky emptied, they saw the celestial fighter had managed to maintain the exact same position with her arms folded over her chest and, despite their combined blasts that should have reduced her body to a pile of ash, she didn't have a single scratch on her. No bruise, no burn, she was completely fine, and was still smiling at them.

"A fine attack. If I didn't have my _**Light Mass Barrier**_ that assault would have caused some serious skin burn," Kana chirped brightly, before stretching her neck and grinning across at the earthlings. "Great job."

"Ah! Damn it!" Trunks cursed, clenching his fists in frustration. "It didn't work!"

"Not even a blink!" Vegeta, also looking completely flabbergasted, balled his fists angrily, "The arrogant little bitch! She's just toying with us!" And it pissed him off because they were throwing everything they had at her and had made zero progress so far.

Grinning happily at her opponents, the glowing haired girl rolled her shoulders and spoke, "This is great! I can't remember the last time I had a fight like this. You guys are really something else." She looked around at all the exhausted Z-fighters before taking on a more competitive look. "I haven't had this much fun in ages. But… as much as I would love to continue playing around with you four, I think it's about time we wrapped this thing up. I've got a lot of other planets to visit and I don't want to keep my clients waiting."

Trunks growled, "Like hell we're going to let you win!"

Still smirking across at the Saiyans, Kana seemingly failed to notice Piccolo rapidly gaining attitude behind her and, with two fingers held to his forehead, cocked back his arm and fired an orange and purple corkscrew beam straight at her back. The light-speed blast slammed into the girl's spine and started to drill, sending sparks and excess energy flying in all directions.

Much to everyone's astonishment, the girl continued to float there as the beam ground into her uselessly like it was just burning rubber. After several seconds of nothing, the smiling Kana's face turned serious and, without having to even look at the person behind her, her eyes flashed gold and she fired two beams from her irises. As soon as they shot out they did a ninety-degree turn skywards before bending again and flying straight towards Piccolo, zigzagging at random.

Unlike against Videl, these beams were even faster.

A split second after the attack was fired the stunned Namekian warrior was hit square in the chest by the two beams and sent flying back down to earth at a ridiculous speed. The powerful beams pushed Piccolo into an office building and smashed him through every single floor before hitting the ground, vanishing in a cloud of dust and glass.

He was unconscious before he even formed a crater.

"Piccolo!" Gohan shouted, eyes widening in alarm after seeing his teacher get dispatched with a single blast.

"Don't worry. He'll be alright," Kana spoke, looking around at the three Super Saiyans floating a dozen or so yards ahead of her while all of them threw her dangerous glares. "I'm not fond of killing my opponents, unless absolutely necessary. Life is precious after all." Her grin then became a lot more pronounced when she eyed her targets with excitement. "Of course, what fun is life if you're not living it up or hanging on the edge of it?" Her response was spunky and genuine at the same time.

Growling loudly, Gohan charged forward and swung out at the girl with a flurry of attacks. However, despite his speed and technique, the girl effortlessly avoided his blows by slipping around them. When he came in with a right cross, Kana unfolded her arms and backhanded the boy across the face, her blow impacting against his cheek with the sound of an artillery cannon and sending him spinning out of the sky.

Trunks immediately put up his guard, whereas his father powered up and threw his arms out. Wasting no time, Vegeta began gathering as much energy as he could for his next attack as fast as he could, before throwing both hands forward and cupping them in front. Golden electricity began to crackle and sizzle around his hands as he took aim at the girl, a sight that told his son from the future to get the hell out of the way.

"You're mine!_** FINAL-"**_

"Too slow," Kana interrupted, grinning before two beams shot out of her eyes once again and followed a jagged path towards Vegeta, making their mark in less than a millisecond.

Her _**Circuit**_ _**Tracer **_slammed into the Saiyan Prince's chest with concussive force, stopping his attack, pushing him back through the sky and drawing a cry of agony from the super powered warrior. But then, just as the beams were disintegrating the front part of his Saiyan armor and was about to send the man over the horizon, his time traveling son responded to his plight and, tackling him in the side, pushed the man out of the attack's path.

"FATHER!" Mirai shouted, managing to knock his dad away, only to have the beams switch to him and slam into his chest, "AUGH!" The spiky haired demi-Saiyan ended up being blasted by the beams into the city streets below, right into the heart of Satan City.

Managing to recover and stop his fall, a badly burnt but still conscious Vegeta regained altitude and turned back to his opponent. Realizing what'd happened, the man's eyes widened in horror and he reeled forward. "TRUNKS! NO!" But it was too late.

The moment his gaze fixed on his son, he saw the zigzagging eye beams push the boy through several skyscrapers all the way to the center of the metropolis. Seconds later, Trunks's body ended up crashing into the city square, forming a deep crater. The people surrounding the area cleared out before the boy's impact and when they came back to see what'd happened, they found the half-Saiyan lying sprawled out at the bottom of the hole, unconscious, his top disintegrated, and his chest singed.

Upon downing another, Kana smirked, "Nice save." She then blinked when she sensed someone fast approaching and vanished in a golden flash, teleporting just in time to avoid Gohan flying at her from the side with an elbow.

Missing, the young half-Saiyan growled and extended his senses, trying to find out where Kana had gone this time. Tracking her to the ground, the boy saw her reappear in the very center of the park where they'd been fighting, with her arms at her sides and her gaze locked firmly onto his position. Responding immediately to her teleportation, the boy powered up and dove for her.

Identifying what her target's intentions were, Kana took aim and fired three shots from her eyes, the beams zigzagging randomly through the air as they homed in on her fast moving opponent at light speed. Spotting the approaching attacks, Gohan took evasive action, performing a series of aerial flips and spins, and effectively dodging the zigzagging blasts. When he looked back, he saw the beams bend through the air and begin chasing after him, bringing a scowl to the Super Saiyan's face and prompting him to think up a way to get rid of them.

Circling the sky, the young hybrid looked down to see Kana still watching him comfortably from below. It was only upon seeing her cheerful face that an idea struck him.

Coming about, Gohan allowed the beams to chase him through the airspace above the reserve before quickly descending to ground level behind his opponent. Flying backwards as fast as he could, the boy slammed his feet into the grass to slow his momentum. And then, the exact moment he reversed into Kana's back, he threw his hands behind him, wrapped them around her head, and slammed his feet into the back of her legs. Catching the stationary girl by surprise, the demi-Saiyan effectively flipped them and switched places so that her body fell into the path of her beams.

When Gohan hit the deck, Kana ended up getting struck by her own attack, the first round sending her flying across the park with the clap of a shockwave ringing out. The stunned girl let out a cry of pain as she was hit not once, not twice, but three times, the last two _**Circuit**_ _**Tracer **_rounds smacking into her while she was hurdling across the park. She only stopped when she ended up slamming into the side of another building, the impact creating an earthshaking tremor while the civilians standing around the area ran for it.

Videl, who was watching the fight 'safely' from behind her tree, grinned when she saw Gohan pull one over their cocky opponent and pumped a fist triumphantly, "YES!"

"Nice!" Krillin laughed.

Zangya too, who'd been watching the fight from afar, grinned in amusement. "Well played." She then tilted her head thoughtfully when her gaze fell on the boy._ "No wonder we lost to this kid. He's brilliant."_

Leaping to his feet after knocking Kana for a loop, Gohan glared across the ruined park to the other side where her opponent had landed. She'd practically covered about half a kilometer before eventually stopping and with the amount of power she'd put behind those beams, there was a guarantee that she must have felt the full force of it. It was a small victory to the young Saiyan, who remained on guard while waiting to see what'd happened to the Seirei.

Unfortunately, the youngster didn't get a chance to see the smoke clear because in a flash of light, Kana was suddenly floating just two feet in front of him with her leg cocked back.

Gohan had just enough time to recoil in shock before a kick slammed into his chest and sent him rocketing through the city towards the outskirts, flying through several buildings along the way. The moment she sent him off, Kana held up her left hand and, with a grunt of effort, she unleashed a powerful golden blast that broke the sound barrier several times as it flew straight through the many holes the boy managed to punch through the buildings.

While Gohan was still airborne, he was struck full in the front by the lance and sent rocketing over the suburbs and into a distant mountain. When he collided with it along with the blast, the entire edifice went up like it'd been struck by a nuke, a golden, geyser like explosion shooting into the clouds and nearly touching the stratosphere, while the shockwaves that rang out rocked the entire country. The city was nearly shaken from its foundations and the people, who were either watching or not watching the battle, braced themselves and cried out in terror as the 7.0 magnitude quake hit the town.

Seeing the boy get thrown into the distance and blown up caused Videl's eyes to widen in horror, "GOHAN!"

Zangya, uncrossing her arms at the sight of the colossal explosion, looked on in disbelief, "No." Seeing the demi-Saiyan engulfed by the blast, the woman clenched her fists and glared down at the one responsible for bombing the kid. _"Bitch! I had unfinished business with him!"_

Explosion fading, Kana lowered her hand and smiled. "I hope you'll forgive me for that. You're going to wake up feeling really sore in the morning, so try your best to walk it off." After seeing the mushroom cloud rise into the air and the light return to normal, she then turned her gaze towards the sky again. "Now then…"

"Callous wench! You're dead!" Vegeta roared, aura pulsing around him as he dove straight down at the woman. Letting out a battle cry, he swung at her with an overhand, aiming to bury her in the ground with a single hit. But the second he let his punch fly, the Saiyan Prince was stopped dead in his tracks when Kana's hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat. His momentum being instantaneously shutdown by the hand latching to his neck caused his aura to dissipate. "GAH!"

Holding the man above the ground effortlessly when he reached up and started clawing at her arm, Kana smirked, "Just one last piece of unfinished business."

Growling when his attempts to free himself failed, Vegeta extended his arm, opened his palm towards the Seirei's face and held it at a ninety-degree angle. That was all it took before he unleashed the mother of all payloads directly between her eyes. _**"BIG BANG ATTACK!"**_ A golden sphere detonated directly in the smiling girl's mug, engulfing them in a dome-shaped blast that shook the block until smoke shortly replaced the fireball.

Grinning at finally getting a better than decent shot in on her, Vegeta figured he'd managed to fry her face off. However, when the smoke eventually cleared, the prince was stunned to see Kana's unchanged expression emerge completely unscathed from the fumes, leaving the Saiyan gob smacked.

"I-Impossible!" the Z-warrior managed to choke out. Even Krillin, who was standing on the sidelines, was confounded.

Giggling, Kana then cocked her left fist back and, releasing the Super Saiyan at the same time, slammed it into his chin. The impact caused a deafening shockwave to ring out and shatter the glass on every single building surrounding them as Vegeta was sent soaring straight up into the sky. As he ascended, the alien girl took aim at him and fired her _**Circuit Tracer**_. The zigzagging beams honed in on their ascending target and slammed into the man's chest, causing him to let out an agonized scream as the attack literally sent him above the clouds before it detonated and his body came crashing down somewhere over the horizon.

Grinning after sending Vegeta on a free trip, Kana laced her fingers and stretched her arms and back. A satisfied groan escaping her lips, she then looked around and made sure her job was done. "Well. That's over and done with. To be honest, I was expecting the four of them to put up a much better fight, what with their planet being on the line and all. But… I suppose if that's everything they have to give, then I may as well prep Bit to-"_** BANG!**_ She was promptly cut off from her next course of action by a blast detonating against the back of her head, causing her to lurch forward slightly and stare ahead in surprise.

Hair slightly singed, Kana spun around to see who the hell had attacked her from out of the blue. Eyes falling upon Krillin kneeling on the ground on the edge of the park with Android 18# in his arms, she then saw an orange haired woman with blue skin land in her line of sight. The appearance of the new alien had the space traveler blink.

"Ta-da!" Zangya sang, smirking at the glowing teenager.

Krillin, remembering the beating he'd received from the newcomer, gawked in disbelief, "Y-You? What the… What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"What does it look like, short-stuff? I'm fighting," Zangya replied, looking over her shoulder at the man and his unconscious love-interest before turning back to the alien in the plug suit. "Not the brightest idea, I'll admit. But seeing as how I'm already out here I might as well." Heck, she didn't even know why she'd just jumped in like that.

She could have easily stood by and watched this chick fly off and possibly take the entire planet with her, but for some reason she didn't. And it was annoying the hell out of her because she couldn't figure out why.

In spite of her answer, the man was still confused. "Whose side are you on exactly?"

Zangya, of course, had an answer for that one as well, "I'm on nobody's side but my own." She then narrowed her glare on the glowing haired chick still glaring daggers her way. "Let's just say I've got a lot of stuff going on in my life and leave it at that."

The squishing sound of Krillin's eyelids opening and closing echoed back in response. "Umm… okay. Fair enough."

Videl, who was holding her position out of range of the faceoff, also recognized the blue-skinned alien that'd dropped out of the sky and stared at her with a mixture of suspicion and unease.

Being a mortal human surrounded by super powered aliens, you could understand her immediate concern.

Focusing her best glare on the radiant entity from the inner regions of the cosmos, the orange haired Zangya's frown deepened, "That brat Gohan was _my_ mark. You hear? No one is allowed to kick him around the countryside except me."

The invader however, was too caught up in surprise to completely register to the woman's threatening tone. "A Hera-seijin?" Kana murmured. "There's one still alive? If I remember correctly, your planet and most of its entire population was wiped out over ten thousand years ago." Narrowing her attention on the newcomer, she then activated her scouter and scanned the alien, not just getting a physical break down of her, but also grabbing some other useful Intel on the fighter. After several seconds, she raised an eyebrow, "Hmm. Your power reading is around 150,000,000 riki. I guess that explains why you're still alive. That's a pretty high level for a member of your race." She then smiled across at her, "But, against me… I'm afraid it's not going to be enough."

Zangya scoffed, "We'll see." She then slid into a fighting stance, glaring across at the celestial warrior whose hair bellowed upwards and defied gravity.

The woman's stance had the armored girl grin, "Oh? You want to have a go at me as well?"

"Does _this_ answer your question?" the blue-skinned alien asked, cupping her hands forward and firing a red sphere of energy straight at the girl.

The attack shot across the park like a tank shell, but just when it seemed like it was going to hit the fiery haired woman and knock her on her ass, it instead struck the golden shield that sprang up around her and began drilling into it. After a few seconds of tug-of-war between the ball and the barrier, the orb of red energy then bounced off of the defense and flew up into the sky, where it detonated harmlessly out of reach.

Zangya gritted her teeth in frustration, before leaping into the air and suspending herself in the sky above, the woman threw her hands back and cupped them in front of her a second time. "Suck on this! _**Spark Laser!"**_ She then unleashed a powerful bolt of red lightning from her palms that shot towards the girl and struck her full in the chest.

The stream of electricity ground into the girl's breast plate just as her previous attack had done to her shield. But just like every other blast that was sent her way, Kana paid it little interest or mind. Instead, as the lightning continued to drill into her uselessly, the girl merely smiled before firing her golden beams from her eyes and straight up at the Hera. Zangya had enough time to maneuver her lightning stream into the path of the beams, where they met in a momentary struggle before Kana's attack easily forced their way through and struck the stunned warrior in the chest.

A small explosion and a shockwave sent Zangya spiraling to the ground with a cry of pain, where she slammed into the grass back first and bounced. Managing to land in a crouched position and slide to a stop, the badly singed girl groaned in agony and glared up, where she saw her target levitate off of the ground and fly straight at her.

Gasping in fear, the orange haired rogue then responded by throwing her hands forward and hurling a net of energy wires straight into Kana's path. The strings, traveling in the blink of an eye, managed to catch the girl in the middle of her charge, tangling around her body and limbs, and effectively stopping her in mid-punch while she was only a few feet away from her opponent.

That was only until Kana, calm and collected as ever, continued to move forward while bringing her fist around for a blow.

Stunned, Zangya gritted her teeth and concentrated even harder, trying to stop the teenager still walking towards her. Even though she was moving in a jerky, slow-motion run, the invader was acting like the wires weren't even there and as she closed the gap between them, the wires started to snap one after the other. Sweat poured from Zangya's head as she gave it her all to try and stop the train that was her target.

Then, seconds later, Kana was right on top of her. With one mighty pull, the girl drove a fist at full speed into Zangya's face, slamming her into the ground with a shockwave that blasted a crater into the earth. The moment she put the girl in the earth, the remaining energy draining wires dispersed, allowing the glowing girl to rise up to full height and smile down at her foe.

When the dust cleared, she saw the stricken, blue-skinned warrior lying at the bottom of the hole, bleeding from the mouth and covered in bruises. Groaning, Zangya looked up at the celestial traveler, whom she could see standing unharmed and beaming at her with that radiant smile of hers.

"You have some very unique techniques," Kana commented while tilting her head. "But like I said before, it'll take more than that level of tenacity to beat someone of my caliber. The strongest member of your group was Son Gohan and he had a power reading of 190,000,000 riki in his Super Saiyan form, while the other two were sitting at 140,000,000 each. Me…" She then grinned proudly at the woman, "With all of my restraining bolts removed, I have a maximum of over 350,000,000 riki." She then nodded down towards the warrior trying to sit up in her crater. "Unless you can somehow generate a riki level higher than that, there is no way anyone can beat me. Not even you."

Zangya, wincing, then threw the girl a pained yet cocky grin, "Oh. I wasn't trying to beat you." Her response drew a confused look from the invader. "I was trying to stall you…"

"Stall me?" Kana parroted, narrowing her eyes. "For what?"

Her answer came shortly afterwards in the form of a shockwave that caused the entire country to tremble. Eyes widening in surprise, the glowing haired visitor to the planet as well as everybody else in the area then looked in the direction of the mountain that she'd previously shot one of her opponents at, which was now lying in a massive pile of rubble on the horizon. At least that's how it remained, until a loud rumbling sound started to echo across the region and, out of nowhere, the massive chunks of earth making up the fallen edifice started to lift into the sky.

Krillin, Videl and everybody else looked across the city in disbelief to see the bits and pieces of earth and rock rise into the air. The spectators were shortly joined by Vegeta, Trunks and Piccolo, all of whom slowly regained consciousness and watched from their crash sites several kilometers apart as the rubble of the collapsed mountain rose into the clouds.

Watching the unnatural phenomenon take place in the distance as seemingly all gravity vanished from the area, Kana stared out at the floating collection of rocks suspiciously for several moments, before her serious expression slowly transformed into one of shock. Then, when she saw beams of light start shooting up out of the massive crater in the distance, her face took on a look of fear and incredulity.

"W-What?" the girl murmured as she then saw blue flashes of lightning join the golden beams of light.

Zangya, managing to peer out of her crater to see the anomaly herself, sprouted a smile of delight grin. "Well… it's about damn time."

A split second later, a thunder clap rang out. This was followed by a flash of light and, as the rocks cascaded back down to the earth, a golden streak of energy incased in blue electricity shot out of the crater, arced through the air, and landed on the edge of the park in a flash of light. The figure's landfall was marked by a sonic boom that sent a blast of wind across the square.

A stunned Videl looked across the park and through the dust at the person engulfed in golden energy. Seeing them standing in plain sight, the pig-tailed girl then took on a look of sheer delight when she eventually identified who it was.

Tears of joy filled her eyes, "Gohan! You're alright!"

Immediately, the girl noticed he looked a little bit different from before. Unlike his previous, golden form, his hair had spiked up even more and was pointing skywards, save for a single strand that dangled over his forehead. To join his new appearance, aside from his gi, which was now a tattered mess, he was also emitting a higher frequency aura, with blue electricity running up and down his body. It was a transformation Videl had never seen before, yet marveled at it all the same.

It was also something Kana took immediate notice of and, almost instantly, the girl began to tremble.

"_This energy?"_ Looking into the boy's fierce, turquoise eyes, Kana's gaze narrowed and she produced her scouter, which began calculating her opponent's new form. When the number eventually appeared in her hologram, her expression turned to one of complete shock and she took a full step back. "N-No way? His power level… it's… registering over 360,000,000 riki."

Gohan, now standing off against the glowing girl, frowned in her direction, "Like I said before… you can't rely on your scouter to calculate a person's power level." A smile then spread across his face as a spark of electricity shot off of him and struck the ground all cool style, sending dust kicking into the air. "It can really let you down when it counts."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Oh yeah, shit's about to go down. After trying as a team to take out Kana, Gohan then decides to go full Super Saiyan 2 to finish the fight.

I wonder how this is going to pan out next.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

P.S To those posting messages with power levels, the ones in this story are calculated differently by the character, so you don't need to post other ones to me. You can PM me if you like.


	6. Game Changer

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Game Changer_

Reacting in alarm, Kana took a step back and threw her hand forward. But just before she could do anything even remotely defensive Gohan, permeating with his Super Saiyan 2 form, vanished in the blink of an eye and buried a fist into her face that sent her rocketing through the eleventh floor of an office building behind her.

Seeing the boy effortlessly smack the invader away with a single blow, the stricken Zangya lying in the crater directly beneath him blinked in shock. "Damn." Her remark earned a momentary smirk from the golden haired warrior. After which she then watched the teen vanish, leaving the area with a crack of lightning.

Krillin and Videl gawked at the speed he moved, unable to keep track of him anymore.

Smashing through cubicles, chairs, computers and windows at bullet speed, the plug-suit wearing Kana eventually spiraled out of the tower and traveled an entire kilometer across the city. Completely stunned by the hit, the alien traveler was unable to do a thing when she began her descent back to ground level; flying past several more skyscrapers and eventually colliding with one of the city's many highways. Bouncing down the multilane road, cart wheeling off the top of a van and landing on the hard concrete between a group of stunned civilians, Kana curled up on the ground, clutched her face and cried out in agony.

Revealing a bleeding nose, the girl formed an angry fist and slammed it into the floor, splitting the road down the middle at the force and bringing herself onto her hands and knees. But just as she was looking back the way she'd come, Kana suddenly saw her opponent dive straight down at her from above at a ridiculous speed and crash into her with his foot. The Seirei had only a split second to appear shocked before the boy began plowing her down the highway faster than a missile.

Tearing a trench along the multilane road and rocketing past civilians and cars, Gohan literally skateboarded the girl down the tarmac for a full kilometer. Kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris that could be seen for miles, the Super Saiyan 2 then sprang off of the teenager and allowed her to slide along her face for several more yards, before she ended up colliding with the frontend of a police cruiser.

Landing gracefully on the ruined expressway, the still glowing Gohan fixed his glare on the partially buried Kana, while the two cops standing beside their car stared at him in shock. Having leapt out of their vehicle when they saw the wall of fast-moving dust approaching them, the pair of officers then found themselves staring at two people, one bathed in an ethereal golden aura and the other with her face in the ground, squaring off in battle.

Placing a hand on the bonnet of the car, Kana pulled herself out of the crater, sporting numerous cuts along her face and damages to her suit. Growling angrily, the Seirei stood up and turned around, at the exact moment the two cops tried to act smart and pulled their guns on her. They opened fire on her back, emptying their pistols, only to watch in disbelief when their bullets literally stopped in mid-air just inches from hitting her back.

When they saw the fire haired girl glare at them, they immediately backed off, dropping their side arms and putting their hands in the air.

Promptly ignoring them despite their lame actions, Kana turned to Gohan to see more electricity course over his body. After a few moments of looking him over, the girl smiled and brushed some dirt away from her mouth, "Not bad. You really caught me by surprise there. I can't remember the last time anyone has ever given me this much damage before." Spitting out blood from her mouth, the battered girl smirked. "Judging from your change in appearance and sudden increase in strength, I'm going to venture a guess that this is some sort of second level transformation for your Super Saiyan states."

"Yeah. Vegeta calls it the genuine Ascended Super Saiyan form." He then threw her a smile while electricity crackled off of him. "But for me… I like to call it a Super Saiyan 2."

"Well, it certainly packs a wallop. There's no denying that," Kana replied groggily. Having received a substantial amount of damage with only two running attacks from the boy, she immediately knew that she was in big trouble and, thinking carefully, opted to correct this dilemma. A frown appeared on her face. "But if you think I'm backing down just because you've increased your power, think again!" She then gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Remove all remaining bolts!"

Gohan blinked in surprise when he suddenly saw a couple more nodes on her plug suit pop up and rotate. Steam expelled from these bolts when they spun and the moment they sunk back into her suit, all the channels on her outfit lit up and her energy level skyrocketed once again. With a howl of agony, Kana threw her hands up as golden ki exploded from her body, shooting up into the clouds in the form of a blinding beam while the ground around her caved. People had to get the hell out of the way when sections of the highway started to collapse, leaving the glowing Kana floating in midair.

Her opponent on the other hand remained stationary, looking across at her in astonishment.

When her energy output eventually reduced to a more tame level seconds later, leaving the teenager's hair bellowing upwards and a brighter glow radiating off of her body, Kana smirked. "That's it. I'm at full power. It's certainly been forever since I last felt like this. I'd almost forgotten what it was like."

The spiky haired Super Saiyan smirked, "Well, you certainly didn't keep me waiting. I can tell you really want to do this." It also provided him an interesting detail about his opponent. _"Figures. If I'd gone straight to Super Saiyan 2 at the beginning she would have been able to remove all those bolts of hers and matched me right from the get go."_ She was able to do it in an instant without the slightest bit of effort, and didn't need to waste needless energy powering up. Since she was already at a maximum state, it was all a matter of unsealing the well that was her power and allowing it to course through her body freely. All she had to do was; unlock the restraints and unclog her conduits.

Oh well. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, didn't. And now they were here.

"Of course. The Earth is a very rare planet. You can't find many others like it in the Northern Quadrant. You could search the stars for centuries and never find another world quite like this one," Kana answered.

Gohan grunted, "I can assume you can get a lot of credit for this one."

"Enough to allow me to live comfortably for the rest of my thousand year life cycle," Kana replied, giving the boy a brilliant grin.

It was this response that inevitably drew a frown back to the now more serious demi-Saiyan's face. "Even so, I cannot allow you to take this planet from us. This world is our home, as is the system it orbits. My father entrusted me to protect the earth and everyone on it, so if you think I'm going to let you or anyone else try to claim it as their own, then you're sadly mistaken."

Kana frowned back at him, her eyes narrowing on the youngster. "Just one question before we get started: why didn't you reveal this transformation to me earlier? You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you had taken this form the moment you underwent your first power up and we could've gotten to this stage much sooner. Why'd you hold back?"

The inquiry had Gohan tighten his scowl, a crackle of electricity running up his chest. "I thought that with the four of us fighting you together we would have had a chance of beating you through teamwork and I wouldn't have to rely on my Ascended Saiyan form to fight. Since my friends were fighting alongside me, I didn't want to risk them getting hurt in a potential crossfire. I've still got a lot of training to do before I can perfectly control this form." His transformation to the second state was still an incredibly potent and volatile result. Even now the young half-Saiyan had some uncertainties and concerns about his current control over this power. Figuring he would learn how to master it as they went along, Gohan then smiled back at the girl and gave a small chuckle. "I also thought that I would be able to challenge myself during the battle and beat you using only my first form, and test my abilities against someone of a high level. You could probably say that a bit of my father's own pride and desire to exercise his skills has also rubbed off on me." It was a glaring weakness and a serious flaw in his approach sure, but it was part-and-parceled with his half-Saiyan, half-human genetics.

The urge to fight and test his limits was a sensation that was almost impossible to resist.

Even so, Gohan believed he really needed to break himself of that habit of showing restraint, so that he didn't inadvertently put anyone in danger. If he had actually been fighting against an opponent who was more malicious than Kana and had actual intent of destroying or enslaving the planet instead of winning it in a fair fight, then he probably would have jumped straight to Super Saiyan 2 and be done with them with the first punch. But since their opponent had a kind nature, something that Gohan was able to pick up while interacting with her, and because he was fighting in close proximity with the others, he didn't jump to the next level right off the bat.

Additionally, because this was an opponent who wasn't intending to bring harm to the population of this planet, Gohan could progress to the higher forms of his transformation process at a more comfortable pace with little need for urgency or anger. This gave him a better grasp and sense over his higher forms, and also filled him with the confidence he needed to push forward. But now that the girl had proven to be an incredibly powerful foe and they were now fighting one-on-one, he could now fight without worrying about hurting the others, open up the taps and show her what he was really made of.

Right now, their power levels were almost exactly the same…

Almost…

"Very well," Kana replied. Smiling at the boy's reason for holding back his best card up until now, the girl then rolled a shoulder and slid forward with one foot so that she was standing side-on to the boy. Once she assumed her stance, her scouter appeared over her eye again and a recording light activated on the edge of the orange visor. "I, Kana of the _Planetary Trade Organization_, recognize you, Son Gohan, as the protector and guardian of Terra 4032-877 and the entire sector, and hereby challenge you to single combat over the right to claim ownership over this planet. Should you lose, I have the right to take planet earth as my own and will transport it to a safe location until a suitable guardian can be found. If _I_ lose, then the earth will remain in this solar system under the protection and care of you and your descendents. Do you agree with these terms?"

Taking this all in, Gohan nodded, "Yes. Do we need to shake on it?"

Kana smiled, her scouter deactivating, "Your verbal acknowledgement is more than enough." She then took on a hard glare and nodded towards him, "Now then… shall we begin?"

Electricity crackling off of his body, the spirited young male frowned as well, "On your go, Kana."

Both of them squaring off from their respective positions under the terrified stares of the people huddled up on the overpass, the pair remained in place. Standing confidently with their auras wafting off of their bodies like flames, the young duo watched one another like hawks, waiting for the other to make the first move. There was a tense silence, even with dozens of bewildered and fear struck spectators murmuring around them.

Whispers started up between families and friends, wondering what was going to happen between the pair of glowing beings.

Then, just as more sparks of electricity shot off of Gohan's form, the young Saiyan saw Kana vanish in a golden flash of light. Her teleportation caused her opponent to lose track of her for only a moment.

A split second later, a thunderclap rang out and the young demi-Saiyan doubled over with the girl's fist buried deep into his stomach, his eyes widening in shock and blood flying out of his mouth. The unexpected blow also caused his aura to dissipate.

As soon as her target had the air knocked out of his lungs, the fiery haired Seirei grabbed his head with her hands and drove a knee right into his face that sent the boy blasting up into the air with a sonic boom. Gohan continued to fly upwards, dazed from the concussive blow to the skull, allowing Kana to teleport past him and reappear directly in his flight path. The teen greeted the ascending warrior by dropping an elbow right down on top of him, the blow creating a shockwave that shook the ground and sent the boy rocketing back towards the highway twenty stories below. It was here Gohan ended up plowing down the road for a quarter of a mile thanks to his angle of descent, leaving a trail of smoke and dust while he slid between cars.

People screamed and barreled out of the way when Gohan's body shot past them, with civilians ending up hugging the walls before looking back to see Kana's golden form descend from the clouds and begin flying down the highway at breakneck speed. She rocketed past cars, ignoring the people and focusing solely on her opponent.

Managing to flip onto his feet and skid to a stop, Gohan powered up and blasted right back at the teenager, kicking up a new trail of dust and debris, while disintegrating the old clouds. He flew straight at Kana with his hand out front, an intense glare on his face while electricity shot off of him like a storm.

"COME AND GET SOME!" Gohan roared, intercepting Kana and locking the pair in what would become known as the biggest fight Satan City had ever seen.

Colliding with one another and causing a sonic boom that cracked the entire highway for a kilometer in both directions, the pair engaged in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. Gohan took the advantage, administering an enormous amount of pressure upon Kana as the pair fought in a continuous blur of movement down the lanes of traffic. Following the main road back towards the spot they'd started and passing it, the pair left a bellowing cloud of dust in their wake while they pounded away at each other at a ridiculous speed, with the fiery haired alien retreating and her opponent pushing her along.

Eventually, after fighting a running battle along the highway for three kilometers, coming within sight of _Orange Star Highschool_ over the horizon, Kana then landed a killer body shot on her attacking adversary, a blow that caused their momentum to slow. Continuing to slide along, Gohan took the shot to the stomach like a champ before retaliating with a kick straight into the girl's chin that sent her blasting off of her feet and off the multilane highway.

Flying between buildings, the stunned Kana was unable to respond in time when Gohan flew after her and nailed her in the back with a second kick. The blow sent her rocketing through the air at a greater speed while the demi-Saiyan slowed. Hovering above central train station, Gohan took aim with both hands and with a yell of effort, unleashed a _**Kiai**_ blast that smacked into Kana's front and sent her spiraling into a skyscraper.

Crashing through the window, the girl plowed through every single office and lounge standing in her way, startling every person on that floor. When she exploded out the other end, her body blasted out another window, trailing dust, debris, and a completely ruined couch.

Her momentum gone, Kana began to plummet, only to power up after falling three floors and rocket away from the building in a steak of gold. Coming to a low altitude, the alien traveler skidded along several apartment tops before hooking through the air and coming back around at her opponent at a blazing speed and with a yell of rage. Gohan, after administering his invisible ki blast, was so focused on the skyscraper he'd put the girl through that he didn't notice her fly in from his blind spot and slam into him with a kick that sent him flying in another direction.

Yelping in pain and stunned by the force of the blow, the half-Saiyan recovered in midflight and spun into an upright position. Once he did, he rocketed back towards the girl who flew at him in kind, and the pair began engaging one another in the skies above central Satan City.

Sonic booms and shockwaves rang out throughout the clouds, every single one of them powerful enough to shake the ground and the buildings situated on top of it. The blasts rippled out like fireworks, pulling people's gazes towards the heavens and scaring the shit out of civilians when they suddenly came in close. Those who were at the reserve and on the highway where all of this super human stuff had started could only listen and look on in silence as the invisible battle took place high above their heads. To those who were just tuning in, they thought that fighter bombers were dropping payloads all across the metropolis.

But there was not a single plane in the sky… or anything for that matter.

Even Krillin, the Z-fighter who was still in the best condition, had lost sight of the pair completely.

"_They're so fast,"_ the man thought, continuing to cradle Eighteen's head in his hands.

Zangya, who was back on her feet and standing by the crater gripping her shoulder, was also looking on with a stunned expression in play.

The weakest of the troop Videl, just like the rest of the population, could only watch as the shockwaves exploded across the horizon and feel the ground shake from each individual blast. All the while, her hands were clapped together in an effort to quell the nervousness now racking her form.

"Come on, Gohan," Videl whispered before an intense look came over her face and her fist shot into the air, "KICK HER ASS!"

Reappearing in the front quad of _Orange Star Highschool_, Gohan landed with a gentle tap and glared straight up at the sky. He was so focused on looking for his opponent that he completely ignored the gasps of surprise from the hundreds of students and teachers that'd come out of the building to see what the hell was going on.

The scattered collegians took a step away from the spiky haired, battered boy that had seemingly teleported out of nowhere, with many of them quickly recognizing him as one of the fighters from the Cell Games.

However, just as the whispering started to play up, Gohan's eyes shot to his right and he saw Kana teleport into view in the form of a golden flash. With a lunge and a shout, she uncorked a swinging right overhand at the boy, only for her fist to fly past him when he slipped around and avoided it. Her missed blow caused an invisible blast of wind to shoot across the high school grounds and blast a huge section of the perimeter wall away, as well as send a nearby parked car tumbling across the road.

As soon as both fighters attacked and dodged respectively, the pair vanished into separate blurs, disappearing into two completely different directions, trailing golden streaks of energy.

The sound of blows landing echoed across the cityscape in another series of deafening sonic booms and was accompanied by loud 'whooshing' noises as well. This indicated that the pair of fighters was beginning to parry and dodge each other more effectively, now that they knew how their adversary moved.

Engaging one another between the towering buildings of Satan City at invisible speeds, the pair reappeared every now and again across the metropolis at random, locked in a heated exchange of flying fists and kicks. The two fighters would battle furiously for a grand total of a full second before vanishing in another blur and continue their one-on-one war throughout the sky.

After several minutes of an unending tradeoff, Gohan reappeared in the clouds and, with a roar of rage, drove a right fist through the air, seemingly at nothing. It was only after he threw it Kana reappeared directly in his path just in time to block the fist with an earsplitting crash. Another, massive sonic boom rang out that blew the clouds surrounding them out of the way and literally cleared the sky for over two kilometers. It was once Kana stopped the blow she and Gohan vanished once more into super speed.

The situation repeated a third time. More shockwaves and wind cracking sounds exploded across the airspace for another several minutes, before the battle returned to the area above the reserve. Zangya, Krillin and Videl watching from far below looked up in time to see Gohan and Kana reappear hovering twenty stories above them, both locked in a heated flurry of punches and kicks that echoed through the air like a rapidly firing artillery cannon. The exchange continued for three seconds before the pair slammed an elbow into each other, sending an invisible blast in the form of a gale in all directions.

The strong wind struck the people on the ground, nearly knocking Zangya and Videl off their feet, and causing everyone to cover up.

Thanks to that, they missed both Gohan and Kana begin another lightning fast exchange of blows, before the former powered up in the blink of an eye and rocketed off into the distance. Kana powered up immediately afterwards and, both trailing gold vapor trails, chased one another out of the city.

Flying over the countryside with the city quickly shrinking into the distance, Gohan and Kana took their fight into the open and away from the populace. Appearing as two out-of-control missiles trailing hot streaks of energy in their wake, the powerful combatants crisscrossed through the sky at an erratic rate, engaging a few times with spurts of blows that generated several, consecutive sonic explosions, before the pair then shot towards the coast and out over the ocean.

Pursuing one another, Gohan swooped in low and streaked across the water's surface, his opponent following close behind as they both pulled up and created enormous waves across the calm stretch of blue. Turning around so that he ascended backwards, the fiercely glowing demi-Saiyan emitted several bursts of electricity, which he then hurled from his palms in the form of bolts of lightning.

Kana effortlessly dodged the first and smacked aside the second, before continuing her chase of the boy. The pair picked up speed and arced through the sky, ending with them descending towards a group of deserted islands.

Slamming his feet into the mountainside of the largest, Gohan slid down its slope to a grinding stop and spun around. _**"KA-ME-HA-ME…" **_Charging a blue ball of ki in his right hand in record time, the boy then threw it back and unleashed it with a mighty yell. _**"HAA! HAA! HAAAAA!"**_ Every shout was marked by a burst of explosive energy, which rocketed from his hand in the form of three powerful, individual blasts, which shot up towards the approaching Kana.

The fiery haired girl swiftly dodged the first two, watching them detonate over the horizon in spectacular dome-shaped explosions with the force of nukes. When she saw the third one homing in on her, the girl cranked back both her hands and chucked them forward with a yell, producing an enormous, golden sphere of energy that expanded and collided with the final blast.

The impact caused an explosion several times greater than a hydrogen bomb, creating an orange, sphere shaped explosion that parted the clouds, the ocean, and punched a crater into the seabed five kilometers wide. The range was so extensive it completely disintegrated all ten islands in the vicinity. This included the one Gohan was on.

The flash of blinding light the detonation generated could be seen for miles and the tremors from the catastrophic blasts shook the entire Eastern seaboard.

Vegeta, who was still lying stricken in the middle of a distant field, saw the explosion blanket the horizon and gawked in disbelief at how enormous it was. Having lost complete sight of both warriors, the man could only lie there, beaten, battered and burnt from head to toe, trying to feel the fight taking place with his senses.

Though it wasn't as accurate as seeing it firsthand, the man couldn't help but be astonished at how powerful both combatants were.

Once the ocean settled back in after the landscape reducing attacks went off, Gohan reappeared a full minute later many miles away atop another island peak. Landing there, bathed in his golden aura, the Super Saiyan 2 frowned as he glared across at the other mountain top, where he saw Kana reappear in a golden flash.

The two fighters revealed to each other that they were both covered in extensive bruises, cuts and burns, a majority of which had been caused by their last attacks reaching critical mass. Both sporting ruined clothing, including Kana whose armor had broken in several places and was missing a few plates, the pair also had blood running out of their noses and mouths to join the heavy wounds on their faces.

After pounding away at each other for well over several minutes, it was a given that the two would be in such ruined states. It was unreal.

Staring at one another for well over a minute, the glowing fighters remained as they were, catching their breaths and sizing the other's condition up. Once they were certain they'd analyzed the other enough, both took fighting stances a second time. While Gohan stood side on with his arms firmly at his sides, his opponent brought her fists up and took a wider stance, showing that both were ready.

"Round 2?" Gohan asked.

Kana smirked, "I thought you'd never ask." Her expression then became surprisingly feral, a split second before she vanished in another golden flash.

The girl teleported directly in front of the boy and flew into him head first, crashing into his cranium. A thunderclap ringing out, Gohan was sent blasting off of the island peak and flying backwards through the air. The impact shutting down his aura, the demi-Saiyan tucked, rolled, and stopped, before giving a burst of energy and rocketing forward with a yell. Kana charged in as well, and with either a fist or an arm leading their dashes, the pair crashed into each other head-on with a shockwave that rippled out in a brilliant flash of white light.

The bright blast caused the ocean to stir violently and the entire island beneath them to splinter and crack. Soon enough, the two warriors began exchanging ridiculously fast blows high above the ground once again. This time however, instead of attacking with the same grace and form that they had back in Satan City, their attacks were wilder, more furious, and as they traded shots at invisible speeds, they started to pummel each other with reckless abandon. Rapid machinegun fire echoed out across the ocean as the two teens hammered away at one another, while at the same time blocking, parrying or dodging whatever they could.

Right now, both Gohan and Kana were opening up with everything they had and, as their fight progressed above the large island, their battle became more and more aggressive.

Loud shouts echoing out with every blow he landed, Gohan pressed forward with an assault. Landing a devastating hook that stunned Kana, he began hitting her with power shot after power shot. A right fist buried into the girl's stomach, doubling her over, followed by a swift left knee into her face that cocked her head backwards. She then received a left kick straight into her stomach, allowing Gohan to grab her hair and, pulling her forward, drive a right knee across her face.

Thunderclaps marking each hit, Gohan then took advantage of his stunned opponent and, while continuing to hold onto her long orange hair, began repeatedly kneeing her in the face with his left over and over, eliciting continuous shouts of pain from the Seirei. His blows landing at the rate of a machine pistol, he continued to leisurely pummel Kana like she was a punching bag, until his rhythm was unexpectedly broken by the tip of her hair suddenly coming to life, extending, and wrapping around his neck like a chord.

"Whoa! What the-GAH!"

Caught completely off guard, Gohan was then yanked forward and, while being throttled by the length of hair, was head butted by the girl with an earsplitting crack. Paying him back for the brutal knee assault, Kana then gleefully began elbowing him in the face over and over again, the sounds of loud, metallic clangs ringing out with each impact. The demi-Saiyan cried out repeatedly from the blows that connected. Then, after three more seconds of a continuous, vicious assault, Kana cranked back her leg and threw a kick straight into the boy's chin.

The force of the foot slamming into his face sent Gohan rocketing into the sky with a shockwave. Kana shot after him. But just when it seemed like she would catch him, the boy suddenly stopped with his hands thrown up and splayed over his forehead, forcing the girl to hit the brakes and halt in midair directly in front of him.

"_**MASENKO-HAA!"**_ Gohan roared, throwing his hands forward and unleashing a blast with an enormous spread that engulfed Kana in a blinding flash of golden and purple light. The attack ripped through the skies like a hurricane, disintegrating the whole top portion of the island beneath them while sending the young Saiyan's opponent spinning into the ocean at the same time.

The attack plowed through the sea and dug an enormous, one kilometer wide trench through the water to the bottom, which filled in seconds later as the golden sphere of energy carried on and detonated over the horizon in another enormous, dome-shaped blast.

Watching the flash fade in the distance, Gohan fixed a bloodied glare on the vanishing point as the tsunamis settled back into the ocean. When the surface became still once again, he then saw a golden streak of energy shoot up into the sky from the water many kilometers away. After rocketing to an even higher altitude than the demi-Saiyan, the glowing alien suspended herself in the clouds with her fists tightly clenched.

A dozen golden, basketball sized spheres appeared around the Seirei with a crackle of electricity. They began to orbit her at high speed then, throwing her hand forward, Kana started lobbing the blasts towards her opponent one after the other in turn. _**"METEOR BARRAGE!"**_ The spheres shot from her hand like rockets, shooting across the ocean at light speed and homing in on the youngster.

Powering up, Gohan maneuvered across the sky as fast as he could. He zipped left and right across the expanse of openness in a blur, allowing the shots to blow right past him, only to hook around and track his movements. With the region being filled with a dazzling display of streaking lights, Gohan avoided the tracer rounds one after the other, slipping them, leaping over them and ducking them, before they all converged on his position all at once.

"THAT'S IT!" the demi-Saiyan shouted, clenching his fists, taking a horse riding stance and, with a bellow of rage, blasted his aura outwards in the form of a golden sphere-shaped shield that expanded at an alarming rate. The attacks collapsed on top of the boy and drilled into his protective barrier with extreme force.

Then, with another mighty roar, Gohan violently increased his shield's density and sent the golden spheres rocketing off in different directions. The orbs peppered the horizon all across the board, detonating one after the other with nuke-like force.

Safe to say the ocean definitely took the brunt of the punishment.

After sending the attacks off, Gohan, still in a powered up state, took flight and charged straight towards Kana. He covered the distance of several kilometers between them in a second and as soon as the boy was upon her, he greeted Kana with a full body check that sent the girl barreling through the air with a cry of pain. Trailing spittle of blood, the teenager managed to spin her body upright and meet the demi-Super Saiyan flying after her. The pair then locked in another vicious pummeling match that saw them flying through the air at supersonic speeds, while exchanging attacks in a blur of movement.

Their forms turning into indistinct, flickering bodies, the pair blasted across the ocean, covering the entire expanse in seconds before reaching dry land a full minute later. Sailing across the coast and traveling further inland, the pair then decided to dispense with blocking and started beating the shit out of each other instead. Blows that shook the countryside resounded throughout the sky as one after the other the two of them began landing devastating hits on the other in the head, face, stomach, sides and chest.

Eventually, getting tired of the hitting match, Gohan leapt up to avoid his opponent's roundhouse kick, drawing Kana's surprised gaze skywards. It was there she saw the boy flare up his aura before rocketing down at her, at the same time interlocking his hands overhead and driving a hammer blow straight down into Kana's neck. The loud crack of thunder echoed out when the girl was sent spiraling into the grasslands below, her eyes glazed over as the hit had nearly knocked her out. Managing to recover in time to notice her descent, the girl took control of her flight by quickly tucking up into a ball and rolling.

Her form becoming incased in her metallic sphere, Kana collided with the ground and, with elastic like quality, bounced back into the sky and rocketed towards Gohan at an alarming speed. The boy only had a split second to look shocked before the metal orb slammed headlong into him with a loud 'bang', knocking him senseless.

After sending the demi-Saiyan into the clouds, Kana's ball form suddenly changed directions and flew back down to the planet's surface, where it bounced off the ground and shot back up at Gohan once again.

Stopping himself, the boy looked back with his guard up and a serious expression in play. His façade then dropped completely when he saw the sphere approaching him again and he freaked out. "OH CRAP!" Gohan then swayed back at the last second, avoiding the sphere that blasted past him and into the clouds. It was there it promptly stopped and unfolded, allowing Kana to leap out and drop down towards the boy, tackling him and sending him spiraling across the countryside.

Righting himself, the thoroughly wounded Gohan powered up and began flying backwards at full speed, while his opponent shot after him and honed in on his linear path. Meeting each other in midflight, the two began trading blows once again, thunderclaps echoing across the continent as the pair past over forests, villages, valleys, and finally into a far reaching, mountainous wasteland that stretched for kilometers in all directions.

Crying out in agony when he received a kick to the face, Gohan was sent rocketing across the ranges while his opponent, bathed in her golden aura, flew after him. Loading up another kick, Kana prepared to deck the boy into the horizon, only for the Super Saiyan 2 to power up and come right back at her with a powerful hook across her face. The blow resounded with the echo of an artillery cannon that drew a splatter of blood and cry of pain from Kana, and sent her blasting in the opposite direction with the Saiyan in hot pursuit.

Powering up to recover, Kana came back at her foe and the pair began trading power shots one after the other, the two of them blocking and parrying each hit in turn with superb efficiency. Shockwaves started to ring out across the country at a machinegun rate once again as the pair battled through the air, kicking up dust from the ground dozens of stories below and causing pillars of rock to collapse from the earthshaking tremors being produced by their fight. Both of them formed a single ball of golden energy that fluctuated around them as they exchanged attacks capable of splitting mountains in half.

When they flew into a series of mountain ranges, the pair then threw simultaneous elbows at each other and collided, causing a flash of light and a sonic boom that reduced an entire edifice to rubble. Throwing a knee up at the girl, Gohan slammed it into her guard with another deafening thunderclap, before Kana retaliated with a right hook that sent the boy barreling up the slope of another mountain and into the sky above it. The force of the hit reverberated after him and completely disintegrated the monolith, sending rubble and debris crashing to the ground around them.

Smoke and dust clogging the air, a slightly winded Kana smirked up at the boy. "I can see you've still got plenty of fight left in you."

The glowing demi-Saiyan smirked, "You got that right."

Kana chuckled, "Impressive. I didn't think you'd last this long." All transformations had limits. But as it turns out this boy had a pretty strong grasp on his second state form. He was really tearing it up.

"Funny. I can say the same thing about you, Kana. You're a pretty tenacious one," Gohan remarked with a similar competitive expression. "Out of all the opponents I've come across, you're the first person I've ever fought that could go toe to toe with me in my Ascended state. This is great."

Giggling, the girl then frowned and vanished in a golden flash.

Caught by surprise, Gohan spun around to see Kana teleport behind him and throw a kick. Dodging at the last second, he countered with an elbow, which buried into the girl's back and dropped her to the earth in a spectacular fall.

The pair descending and slamming into the rocky fields, the fiery haired girl threw both hands forward. With a yell of rage, Kana unleashed a powerful golden blast that shot towards her opponent like a lance. Reacting quickly, Gohan leapt out of the way and allowed the attack to completely disintegrate the mountain behind him, wiping it off of the face of the earth in a geyser like explosion.

As smoke clogged the air, concealing the towering rubble that was collapsing to the ground, the sound of more sonic explosions echoed over the plains as Gohan and Kana flew out of the smoke engaged in another furious duel. Sailing across the wasteland in a continuous, running battle, the pair eventually slammed headlong into the side of another tall mountain, which shattered under the force of their collision and collapsed around them.

A plume of dust rose into the air from the failing edifice. After several seconds, Gohan's form suddenly rocketed out of it and into the sky. Ascending backwards as fast as he could, the boy looked down to see Kana flying after him, the girl throwing both her hands up and charging a large, golden ball of energy in front of her.

While chasing her target, Kana took aim and fired. _**"STAR BURST!"**_ With a shout she fired it at the demi-Saiyan, who watched it approach with an intense gaze before promptly dodging it, allowing the golden sphere to rocket past him.

Both fighters still gaining altitude at supersonic speed, Kana fired off another round at the ascending warrior. Cranking back his hand, Gohan let out a yell and sliced the sphere in half, the two bits separating and exploding harmlessly out of range.

Continuing to climb, Kana fired off four more rounds, shouting with every attack she launched. The spiky haired Saiyan was undeterred. He evaded them one after the other before, with another decisive yell, he cut the last ball in half with a chop, sending the two halves spiraling off in different directions.

The attacks scattering, the sky was filled with the flashes of simultaneous explosions, which cleared the air of all the white clouds in sight and left Gohan hovering between several plumes of smoke.

Looking through the fumes that'd resulted from the explosions in an effort to track down his opponent, the young Super Saiyan 2 was completely unaware of his foe teleporting directly behind him. Catching a flash of light in his peripherals, Gohan turned just in time to hear his opponent yell out and with a deafening clap of thunder, drive a knee straight into his ribs.

A bloodcurdling scream escaped the half-Saiyan's lips as his eyes glazed white and he doubled over his opponent's leg, a split second before he was promptly silenced by his foe wrapping her arm around his face and clamping his mouth shut.

Muffling his scream with her arm and locking his left arm over his shoulder painfully, Kana powered up and, with the boy firmly in her grasp, performed an aerial flip and rocketed straight towards the earth. Falling in the direction of the largest mountain, the pair's forms transformed into a golden streak of light as the Seirei maneuvered her stunned adversary into position, and prepared to pile drive him into the peak.

Kana, with a feral expression in play, laughed out loud, "WHAT'S THE MATTER, SUPER SAIYAN? AM I TOO MUCH FOR YAH?!"

Life flashing back into his eyes, Gohan snarled against the arm covering his mouth and, with all the power he could muster, began elbowing the girl repeatedly in the kidney with his free arm. The blows drove into the girl one after the other with colossal force, stunning her with every blow. Eventually, the demi-Saiyan managed to get Kana to loosen her grip enough for him to reverse the hold and, snapping her arm behind her in a hammerlock, grabbed her head and powered up.

"NOT AT ALL!"

With a tremendous bellow, both opponents let out a scream as they slammed headlong into the top of the mountain. Their impact caused a geyser like explosion of dust to shoot up from the top of the edifice before the entire thing collapsed in on itself.

The force of the landing also generated an earthquake that could be felt across the entire country…

XXX

(Meanwhile – Otherworld)

"Whoa, man. This is intense," Goku exclaimed in awe, his hand pressed against King Kai's shoulder as he watched through his trainer's eyes the commotion going on down on planet earth.

"Yeah. I know. Why do you think I called you over here in the first place?" the blue overseer of space asked while his antenna did their best to track the battle. "Your son is really tearing it up down there."

"No kidding. Man. Look at him go. This is fantastic!"

Having been on Grand Kai's planet for over a month now, both Goku and King Kai had been able to settle into the community quite well. After participating in the _Otherworld Tournament_ and meeting the most powerful fighters in history, the Z-fighter was able to pick things up where he'd left off on earth and continue his rigorous training sessions under the guidance of one of his most well-known teachers.

Over the weeks, the spiky haired hero of earth had been able to experience a lot, sparring with the fighters from his quadrant and learning a couple new tricks along the way. He was even introduced to a new system of weight training, where his trainer had given him a new set of arm and leg weights, and a whole new regimen of shadow sparring sessions. This way, he was hoping for Goku to not only become accustomed to a whole new set of conditions, but to also gradually build up his strengths and techniques.

So far it'd been going quite well.

But then, while Goku was going on a few running laps of the planet to warm up for another long day of training ahead, the chief overseer of the Northern Quadrant then sensed something taking place down on earth and cut off his observations to tune in on the signal. After looking into the problem for himself, the man was then startled to find out that it was in fact Gohan that was causing the racket and quickly called his student over to take a look.

For the next hour after that, the pair watched together as the young demi-Saiyan of earth battled against an alien foe that was not only his equal in strength and skill, but in power as well.

They weren't alone either…

Standing around them, dozens of other fighters from different quadrants had broken off from their respective trainings to see what the North Kai was making such a big fuss over. When they moved over and keyed into the reception the man was currently on, they were able to see the battle going on between the Super Saiyan 2 Gohan and the star child Kana taking place in the mortal plains below.

The spectatorship wasn't just limited to fighters either.

"Th-This… is good…" a short man very similar in appearance to the North Kai, only shorter, with purple skin, a lens over his left eye and the Kanji for 'West' emblazoned on his uniform, murmured as he observed the fight through his own telepathic abilities. A grin forming on his face, the small Kai gave an exclamation of excitement, "THIS IS GREAT! The best I've ever seen!" The man then looked across at his compatriot, who was still watching the battle with vested attention. "Who are those two?"

Apparently even the West Kai had taken an interest in the battle and was currently overseeing it with the others.

King Kai, hearing his fellow trainer's exclamation, glanced over at him with a frown, "Well, one of them is a member of that _Planet Trade Organization_ responsible for keeping the galaxies in order. You know, the same group set up by Lord Beerus and his friends to keep things organized while they're away."

"Oh. So… is she part of the destruction corp. or…"

"Nah. The one for my sector was terminated a long time ago," King Kai replied while looking ahead of him again. "This one is a collection member… a freelancer to be exact. Kana."

"Hmm… I think I've heard that name before," the West Kai murmured before making his inquiry. "Isn't she that Seirei that's been running around the universe challenging planets and taking them to the protection zone?"

"That's right. The one and only."

"Ooh. From what I've heard that girl is supposed to be quite strong," the West Kai murmured, before then narrowing his eyes on the other fighter he could see battling her across the planet. "And… the other one?"

Goku grinned proudly and looked across at the Kai from the other quadrant, which he could see was standing between the fighters from his region. It didn't escape his notice that Pikkon was also with him. "That's my son. His name is Gohan." This answer had several of the warriors gawk at him in surprise.

"Is that true, Goku?" Olibu, a blonde haired, Herculean fighter dressed in a white tunic asked, earning an affirmative nod from the Saiyan.

The West Kai was baffled, "WHA?! Are you serious? _That's_ your boy? Such a strong fighter?"

"Uh-huh," the spiky haired Saiyan replied while grinning back at his teacher, who continued to monitor the fight closely. "He's got the same gi, looks and everything. Heh. He takes right after me in the martial arts department. Heck, he's got even more talent for fighting than I do. And get this… even after all my training over the past twenty or so years; my son is even stronger than I am." It was a revelation that brought surprised looks to the West Kai and Pikkon's faces, as well as to the mugs of all the other warriors present. The collective reactions drew a smile to Goku's face as he watched his boy fight.

From the looks of it, his boy had been training a lot recently, a sign that he was determined to fulfill his dad's wishes to protect the planet. His skills, strength and fighting techniques were sublime. "I'm so proud of him."

"Well, you should be," King Kai spoke up again, attracting the man's gaze when he glanced at his student, "Because this Kana girl is powerful… more powerful than Cell was back in his final battle against Gohan. If he loses, then she's going to take the earth as her own and move it into another quadrant that's outside of our jurisdiction." He looked forward again with a bead of sweat appearing on his head. "After that, there will be nothing we can do until somebody else steps up to challenge them."

Hearing this had Goku blink, before the warrior from earth took on a confident look and nodded to his anxious teacher, "Don't worry about it. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my son will be able to beat this girl. You watch."

After all, he could sense it.

Even though this Kana girl was just as fast and strong as his son, Gohan was still slightly stronger and more skilled than her. Though it didn't seem like it at first, the evidence was all too clear. Just like Goku's fight against Frieza all those years ago, with every blow the demi-Saiyan managed to land on his opponent, the more damage he caused her and the more energy he sapped from her body.

It was only a matter of time before something happened.

XXX

(Back on Earth)

The sound of a jet fighter approaching signaled the return of the two warriors to the eastern half of the continent. After an unending battle that took them on a full lap around the entire earth, the two weary warriors were now close to their original starting point. And even after all the damage they'd inflicted on one another, they were still tearing into each other like there was no tomorrow.

With a sonic boom and an earthshaking crash, Kana's form ended up plowing a trench across the grassy landscape several kilometers outside of the famous Satan City metropolis. After ripping a trench through the ground that sent rubble and debris flying in all directions, the girl sprang back onto her feet and continued to slide backwards with her momentum across the field.

Glaring ahead of her, she saw Gohan's glowing form explode from the cloud forming in front of her and with a battle cry, slammed a fist across her face. The girl managed to block it with both arms, the impact causing her to slide back even faster as the boy pressed forward. With shouts of effort, the demi-Saiyan continued to drive into the Seirei with more punches as she slid along, drilling into her arms before eventually crashing a hook across her face. Head cocked to the side from the blow, Kana immediately retaliated with a swift backhand across Gohan's face, managing to knock him away while she slid to a stop on the grass.

"EAT THIS!" Eyes glowing an intense gold with veracious veins appearing on either side of her face, Kana took aim, reared her head back, and with a howl of rage, unleashed two, powerful beams from her irises. _**"CIRCUIT TRACER!"**_ The beams exploded from her gaze and expanded to the size of blasts as they rocketed across the field, zigzagging at high speed towards her opponent.

Sliding to a stop along the same field, Gohan growled and dashed forward, charging towards the approaching attack. However, just before they could hit, he dove straight into the ground and disappeared, the beams bending downwards and striking the floor, where they both detonated with the force of a nuclear bomb that covered the entire countryside.

Seeing her foe vanish inside the explosion, Kana had no idea what'd happened to him. However, as the mushroom cloud rose into the air, the girl then felt the ground tremble and looked down in surprise. Upon feeling the vibrations increase, she suddenly felt her body jerk downwards when the entire hill she was standing on was lifted into the air.

As it turns out, Gohan had tunneled directly underneath his opponent and, with his incredible strength, managed to lift the hill and an entire section of land the size of an island out of the ground, and into the air. Then, with expert maneuverability, he spun the slab of earth, tipped a stunned Kana off of it, before moving the piece of land over her and dropping it straight down on top of the alien traveler. The island sized hill sandwiched the girl into the floor with an earthshaking crash, a shockwave rippling out that rocked the nearby Satan City to its foundations.

The dust settling, Gohan knelt panting on top of the massive hunk of ground he managed to bury his foe under. Electricity crackling off of him, he continued to hold his position until he sensed something dangerous approaching.

Looking up, the demi-Saiyan was about to stand when two beams unexpectedly shot out of the mound directly beneath him and slammed into his chest. The attack sent him rocketing into the sky for about a hundred stories before the blast detonated and sent him plummeting to the ground. The second he made landfall, the slab of earth Kana was crushed underneath exploded into a shower of rubble and debris, revealing an enormous, island sized crater and a severely battered and dirty Kana floating in the air.

Expression twisted in pain, the girl panted heavily and glared across the field to where her foe had crash landed.

Picking himself out of the hole, a wounded Gohan also gave a frustrated huff and looked up, where he then saw the levitating girl fly up into the sky and throw her hands out.

Aura bursting around her, the girl howled in rage and powered up, two golden spheres of energy appearing in her palms before they started to expand at an alarming rate. From his distance, Gohan watched on with widening eyes as the girl began pouring energy into the orbs, which grew and grew till both of them were the size of mountains. Their surfaces fluctuating and shooting off bolts of golden lightning, the two spheres eventually achieved stability before beginning to compress to a much smaller form.

As they did, chunks of earth for over five kilometers across the land began to rip out of the ground and levitate into the air, floating towards the golden spheres that pulsed in the sky above the country.

The demi-Saiyan's eyes shimmered in horror as he gawked at the amount of ki he could feel being put into the girl's next attack. The energy spheres she was holding had the exact same density as the sun.

"NO! You can't do that! You're going to destroy the whole planet if you fire it from that angle!" As painful as it was, Kana must be losing her sense of restraint from being hit so many times. Right now, she had gathered enough energy to wipe the entire solar system from existence.

Even though she was clearly aiming **only** for him, the slightest change or shift in the angle of trajectory… and you could kiss the entire planet goodbye.

Responding in alarm, Gohan leapt to his feet, took a stance, and cupped his hands behind him. His own aura exploding around him, the boy clenched his teeth and gave a loud growl as he began gathering energy of his own. In a matter of seconds, a blue sphere formed between his palms and began to pulse brightly, clashing with the golden light of Kana's attack.

Roaring out in agony at the amount of energy she was producing, the girl glared down at the boy as more and more of the ground started to rip out around her. Then, after taking aim at him, the teenager yelled, "Let's see what you're really made of, GOHAN!" Rearing back her hands, the girl threw the two balls forward and slammed them together in front of her, a deafening hum echoing across the country as they melded. _**"STAR CRASHER!"**_

A thundering 'boom' rang out across the continent when Kana unleashed her blast in one blinding, golden flash of light, the thick beam rocketing towards Gohan in a wall of disintegrating death.

The boy began to chant as the wall of an attack bore down on him, _**"KA-ME-HA-ME…"**_

His own attack primed, the demi-Saiyan waited till hers was within range before, with a mighty howl that drowned out the scream of the approaching blast, the boy threw his hands forward and unleashed his counter in one, mighty shot.

"_**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" **_The blue stream of energy that was his father's signature attack left his hands in the form of an equally powerful blast, which struck Kana's head on with an impressive thunderclap.

The entire continent shook when their attacks drilled into one another, before expanding into a blue and golden dome that filled the entire space between the two warriors and reached into the heavens. A blinding white light flickered like a strobe across the country that blinded everyone looking directly at it and produced a shockwave so massive, it ripped across the land in the form of a continuous gale. Trees bent, nearby mountains were chipped away and clouds of dust were hurled into the air in storms.

People at the head of the nationwide cyclone had to hold their ground as the wind ripped across the country at an unbelievable rate. The force was almost strong enough to rip the world asunder and with good reason.

The dome formed from the feuding attacks grew so massive that it could be seen from space. If someone were looking down at the entire earth, they could see the dome appear as a throbbing bright light on its side like a zit, burning so brightly that if it were to reach critical mass, it would disintegrate the whole planet.

Not willing to let that happen, both warriors continued to hold, their beam struggle laying waste to everything around them. Eventually, after feeling Kana's attack attempt to overwhelm his, the spiky haired Gohan gave one last snarl before allowing his full power to burst forth.

"YOU WON'T WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" the child cried out, his ki exploding from his body like water from a dam.

Blue energy rocketed off of him and created an imbalance in the dome. The demi-Saiyan's side eventually grew to an unbelievable size and overtook Kana's, blasting around it and preparing to engulf the girl in a sea of blue hell fire.

Eyes widening in horror at the approaching attack, the girl quickly decided to break the exchange the best way she knew how.

With a roar of effort, the girl tucked what remained of her dissipating blast under the growing one and, giving a mighty heave, launched both hers and Gohan's straight up into the sky. The demi-Saiyan followed suit, stopping his flow of energy and watching both attacks rocket into the sky in the form of a massive blue sphere of energy attached to a golden one.

The two blasts expanded to a size greater than that of earth's moon as they shot off the planet and across the solar system. At the speed of light, they passed by Mars and the asteroid belt, taking a small chunk out of Jupiter and wiping out one of its moons in the process before continuing on past Pluto seconds later. When the two enormous spheres left the solar system far behind and found themselves drifting in the empty vacuum of deep space, the feuding attacks eventually lost momentum and gave way.

In a blinding flash, the _Kamehameha_ and the _Star Crasher_ exploded with the force of a super nova, with enough power to wipe out the entire Solar System. However, after traveling so far, the attacks managed to detonate safely outside of the cluster of planets, only barely grazing Pluto's orbit. When the sphere like explosion died down, silence returned to the cosmos.

Both Gohan and Kana stared up at the sky, both of them wide-eyed and both stunned at the force of the blasts they'd just unleashed.

"Whoops… my bad," Kana murmured, nervous sweat pouring down her face.

"We took out a chunk of Jupiter," Gohan also said, gulping a little after sensing exactly where their deflected attacks had gone and what they'd hit along the way._ "Is that a bad thing?"_

Hopefully no one saw that.

Somewhere up in Otherworld though, King Kai was freaking out and Goku was laughing his ass off… along with all the other fighters.

Having avoided tragedy for now, Gohan returned his attention to Kana, who also glared back at him.

After setting themselves into their respective stances, the demi-Saiyan powered up once again and shot across the massive, smoking crater formed by their beam match.

With a yell of effort, he tackled the girl in the chest and sent the two of them flying across the countryside towards the city where, upon reaching the outskirts, the boy cranked his fist back and drove a punch into her face. The force of the blow generated a shockwave and sent the girl spiraling past _Orange Star Highschool_, past the centre of Satan metropolis, and all the way to the reserve where their battle had started.

Smashing through two office building floors, Kana eventually spiraled down into the street, where she ended up bouncing several times before eventually leaping to her feet and skidding across the reserve. Krillin, Zangya and Videl saw the girl appear and watched her rise to her feet and snarl at the sky.

It was then they saw Gohan reappear several stories above her, bathed in his golden aura with blue electricity running up and down his body.

Clenching her fists, Kana gave an angry shout and powered up, her hair bellowing skywards while her aura sprang up at full blast. "Hey! Enough of this silly game of tag! Time for the final round!"

"Alright! You asked for it!" the demi-Saiyan replied, giving off another burst of electricity. "Let's do this, Kana!"

"Right back at you, Gohan!"

With a crack of wind, Kana vanished in a golden flash, reappearing in the distance flying up into the sky. Seeing her speck take the form of a golden streak of energy several kilometers away, Gohan snarled and, powering up as well, rocketed after her at full speed.

Their forms bathed in energy, the two warriors shot across the sky at full speed, breaking the sound barrier several times. Then, as they were closing in on the other, both fighters let out simultaneous war yells before colliding in mid air, generating a shockwave that tore the field beneath them apart like it were confetti and punching an enormous crater into the floor. After a single trade of hits, the two blurs shot off and flew into the sky, climbing higher and higher at an alarming rate.

The two warriors rocketed into the air in the form of golden bolts, leaving behind trails of energy as they ripped past the clouds and into the upper atmosphere. When the clear blue sky was suddenly replaced by the darkness of space, it soon became glaringly obvious to them that they were now in the utter most layer surrounding earth. Passing the stratosphere into the mesosphere, the two warriors began intersecting each other again and again, shockwaves ringing out every time the two golden blurs collided and exchanged killer blows.

Both fighters were tied for first place, but when they eventually climbed into the mid thermosphere area above the planet, it was soon revealed that Kana was taking the brunt of the punishment.

Bleeding from the mouth with even more bruises on her face, including a swollen eye, the desperate girl retreater higher and cranked her fist back. Seeing the golden bolt that was her opponent rocket up at her with the entire edge of the earth as his background, Kana took aim. Gohan, spotting her counter, gave a roar and, flying at her in a blur, drove a power left straight into her cheek, burying it into her face with a shockwave strong enough to reduce an entire island into gravel.

The blow shook the girl's brain and cracked her jaw, stunning her enough for the demi-Saiyan to crank his left leg back before driving the mother of all knees straight into her stomach. The blow landed with a deafening thunderclap and a 'crunch', which was followed shortly by Kana spewing up blood and splattering it over Gohan's now half torn orange top. After hitting her, the boy grabbed her by the leg, spun her, and tossed her further into the depths of space across the planet's upper layers.

Spinning out of control, Kana eventually cracked her back against a satellite that suddenly drifted into her path. Rolling along it and chipping away its hull, the girl eventually dug her fingers into its surface and forced herself to a stop, right on the very back of the craft. Looking up, the wounded girl saw Gohan power up and fly straight up at her, drawing a growl from her before she stood up and kicked the satellite at the approaching blonde with both feet.

The craft crashed into the Super Saiyan 2, smacking him back down towards the planet at a ridiculous speed. When it started to fall from the thermosphere, barreling towards the stratosphere and all set to burn up on re-entry, Kana took aim with both hands and unleashed a powerful _**Kiai**_ that smashed the satellite to smithereens, sending the bits and pieces blazing through earth's layers to the planet's surface. Most of it would be lucky to even make landfall.

Panting exhaustedly from the combo, Kana watched the satellite pieces vanish into the clouds far below. When she saw no sign of her opponent, a smile slowly formed on her face as she began to believe she'd won.

She curled her fist in triumph, "Y-Yes! I did it!" After everything she threw at the boy, she finally managed to take him out once and for all.

But then, moments into her celebrations, Kana soon realized that it would take a lot more than a hunk of metal to take a Super Saiyan out. It only clicked with her a few seconds after her cheer.

Eyes widening in alarm, the girl suddenly spun around to see Gohan's form blazing straight towards her from behind, an intense look on his face as his left hand was cranked back and filled with a golden ball of energy.

"WHAT?! H-How did…" Panicking when the demi-Saiyan was only a few feet from her, Kana threw her left hand forward and unleashed a golden blast of energy.

Gohan effortlessly let it slip past him and, with his sphere of energy loaded he got right up into the girl's stunned face and thrust the ball straight into her gut. "Clench up, Kana!_** MASENDAN-HAAAAA!"**_ With a shockwave, his energy attack ground into the girl's stomach and sent both of them plummeting towards the planet's surface. However, instead of the Saiyan going first, it was Kana who broke the atmosphere first, and as his blast drilled into her, her back started to burn up as they quickly built up speed.

At first appearing shocked, the girl's expression twisted into one of pain as the screeching sound of the blast pulsing against her stomach drowned out all other noise. When flames started to engulf her, with Gohan using her as a shield for entry, the pair began blasting through the upper layers of the planet one after the other, a sonic boom ringing out on ever bounce. Then, as Gohan powered up and began pressing further with a roar of effort, Kana's eyes widened in horror and she let out a cry of agony when they burst through the clouds and began spiraling back to the ground.

Coincidentally, they began falling to the area close to Satan City.

Lightning bolts shooting off of their forms that fell to earth in the form of a golden streak of light, the continued breaking barriers before, like a bullet, the pair collided with the ground at full speed. Gohan's close range _**Masenko**_ went off the moment they made impact, the result generating a golden, geyser explosion with the force of a hydrogen bomb that sent ripples of shockwaves echoing out and causing the clouds overhead to part.

The people in Satan City had watched the 'meteor' descend from space and crash into the countryside miles away. Not knowing what it was, but knowing that it had fallen at a safe distance, the people were at a total loss as to what was going to happen now.

Krillin and Zangya however, who were both adept at sensing spiritual presences, knew that the match was over. So, picking themselves up, they quickly ascended into the sky and followed the plume of smoke.

Videl, seeing them leave, quickly pulled out the capsule containing her jet-copter and cracked it open. Taking a lot longer to get moving, the girl hurriedly leapt into the cockpit and fired up the engine. With her best foot forward, she rose up into the sky and took off after the Z-fighters at full speed, which wasn't nearly as fast as they were moving.

For all she knew, the battle was finished.

The question was though… who won…?

XXX

(Many miles away)

Lying at the bottom of an enormous smoking crater that had been made in the middle of what were once considered prized farmlands, two bodies could be seen. One was standing upright, bathed in a golden aura with a bioelectric field of electricity crackling up and down his body. The other was that of a girl with fiery orange hair, lying sprawled out at the base of the pit, with her plug suit close to tatters and a massive burn mark engraved into her stomach.

With Gohan still on his feet and looking down at the battered and defenseless girl, the victor of their little skirmish was made all too clear.

During his battle, the demi-Saiyan had received quite an extensive bit of damage. On top of the bruises and cuts covering him, his orange and blue gi was also heavily damaged. He had a hole in his right pants leg and was missing the entire bottom left section of it. His orange top was practically gone, leaving him with only the blue undershirt. He also had blood running down his face and from the corners of his mouth. Needless to say, looking battle-damaged and bathed in the glow of his Super Saiyan 2 form, he looked almost exactly like his father did in his battle against Frieza when he first transformed.

Kana on the other hand, had taken it the worst. Not only had the glow in her hair faded, but her face was just as bruised as Gohan's, including a swollen cheek and eye, had blood running out of almost every orifice, and her body was burnt all over. While the leg and arm portions of her suit had survived somewhat, an entire front part of her plug suit had been disintegrated by the short-range blast to her gut. She could only be grateful that at least the chest and pelvis areas of the suit had remained intact. But this left her entire belly and stomach exposed, and not only did she have severe, black burns around the part where she'd been hit, but her abdominals were cut up as well.

And that wasn't even the worst of the damage…

Gohan frowned, "It's over. You're done."

Choking up blood so that it splattered across her front, the girl gazed up at her opponent, who continued to glare down at her, seemingly without pity. "Y-Yeah. I know." Cringing from the bolts of pain shooting through her, Kana tried to form fists in the dirt, but failed miserably. She didn't even have the strength to move. "Man. You got me real good back there. Using the satellite to conceal your movements… I have to admit… I never saw that one coming."

The Super Saiyan 2 allowed his aura to fade, but stayed in his transformed state as he stared down at his defeated opponent, who continued to cough up more bodily fluids. He then spared her a smile, "You were so focused on looking ahead of you that you didn't notice me flying through the debris to get you from behind. It's kind of hard to keep track of your target when you're seeing double, isn't it."

"Heh… yeah… I guess it is," Kana said in a weak voice before falling into a coughing fit once again. More blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth, the girl looked up to see the boy give her a more serious stare. Upon recognizing the fury etched in his eyes and fierceness in his gaze, she knew that she'd reached the end of the line. "I've never… ever fought against a warrior as skilled and as powerful as you… even after all my years of traveling. It's clear to me now that you are… without a doubt… the protector of this world."

Gohan nodded, "Like I said; my father entrusted me with the earth. After he died, he told me to watch over the planet and to protect everyone on it… especially the ones that I love."

"Even if it means… killing?" Kana asked, looking up at the boy firmly.

This question didn't even give Gohan pause, "If I have to."

"Then… I suppose this is where I finally… hang up my suit," the alien invader murmured weakly, another cough causing her to spit blood out. Her breathing coming out in heavy drags, the girl spent the next few moments in pain before looking up at the serious boy once more. "It was bound to happen eventually. After all these years of traveling… and challenging people to fights, I was bound to meet my match sooner or later. I never thought it would be at the hands of someone like you." Gazing painfully at the demi-Saiyan, Kana felt tears well up in her eyes as the pain and thought of dying finally got to her. The girl clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, wanting to block out these thoughts but finding it impossible, "I… It's just… there was so much more I wanted to do… so much more I wanted to see. I never… even had a chance… to really live…" She never even found someone to settle down with. All her years spent traversing the universe and she never even thought about finding someone to share her time with.

It didn't matter now though. After all the fuss she'd caused on this planet, she wouldn't be surprised if Gohan blasted her right then and there.

Looking upon the girl's face, Gohan saw the pain reflected clearly in her eyes; a sadness that gripped her entirely as her world started to fade around her. Though she was an incredibly tough girl and was an exceptionally powerful warrior, Kana didn't possess the cold, unforgiving demeanor of one. Normally, in his ascended state, when battling against a foe who had nothing but evil intent and cruelty swelling in their heart, the young fighter wouldn't have shown a hint of pity or restraint as he drove them into the ground. It was a lesson he'd learned well after his battle with Cell and a trait that came with his Saiyan-side, one that he was learning to control.

However, when he saw the defeat reflected on the face of his current opponent, who was not only a cheerful, kind and considerate individual, who cherished life above everything else and viewed it as something precious and needed to be protected, struck a chord in the boy that immediately suppressed the fierce tendencies within him. The kind heart that he held came to surface and his once serious expression softened, replaced by surprise while he stared down at the girl lying at the bottom of the crater.

Sobbing a little, Kana looked up at the young man through shimmering, tear-strung eyes and looked into his softened gaze, "If it means anything… I… really had fun today, Gohan… thank you…"

Eyes narrowing at what she planned to be her last words, the still transformed boy then looked over his shoulder to see his friends land behind him. Seeing Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo and Zangya were alive and well, as well as Krillin, who was still cradling an unconscious Android 18# in his arms, Gohan then looked back at Kana to see her beam at him.

After a few more seconds of thought, the demi-Saiyan then made a decision and threw a look at his mentor, the Namekian flinching at its intensity.

"Wait here." Powering up, the boy suddenly shot up into the sky and disappeared over the horizon with a sonic boom.

The Z-fighters standing in the crater looked in the direction the boy had vanished in confusion, stunned by his ridiculous burst of speed. For the next minute they waited there, either looking over the horizon or turning to stare down at the thoroughly beaten Kana. When they saw her gaze up at them, half-dead with bags under her eyes and blood leaking out of her mouth, a couple of the warriors there immediately felt pity for her.

But while Trunks and Krillin came off as the most forgiving of the group, the only ones who viewed the girl with any sort of caution or seriousness were Vegeta, Piccolo and Zangya. Hell, the former of the three even contemplated putting the teen out of her misery.

However, after a couple minutes of awkward silence, another sonic boom and the sensation of Gohan's returning presence drew their gazes back over the horizon, where they saw the Super Saiyan 2 return and promptly land in the crater. It was when he walked past them that the group noticed he was carrying a familiar brown bag in his hand and, after squatting down next to the fallen Kana, he fished out a Senzu bean and slipped it into her mouth.

"G-Gohan," Krillin exclaimed in surprise.

Recognizing the stuff the child had returned with, Vegeta immediately stepped forward, "What do you think you're doing, brat?!"

The transformed youngster, despite the supposed fierce nature brought on by his ascended Saiyan state, gave the girl a warm smile as his eyes softened to that of his normal self, "Here. Chew and swallow."

Doing as instructed, Kana bit down on the bean in her mouth and began to grind it between her teeth. Making sure that it was mashed up nice and good, the girl then tentatively swallowed and allowed whatever it was she'd eaten to take its affect.

At first believing it was a drug meant to end her suffering quickly and quietly, Kana then suddenly felt the burning sensation stretching across her body vanish like the wind and a surge of energy rush through her. Then, as if hit by an electric shock, the girl's eyes widened and she sat bolt upright. The sight of her sitting up so quickly had Zangya step back a little in surprise.

Confounded by her sudden recovery, Kana quickly began scanning her body. Testing her hands and patting herself down, checking for any bruises and busted limbs, the girl was quickly shocked when she discovered… nothing. Not a scrape, cut, bruise or burn mark remained. Even the severe scorch tattoo ground into her gut had healed over, with the dry skin peeling away to reveal new, flawless skin underneath.

Overwhelmed, Kana looked up at Gohan, who smiled back at her, "W-What did… you do? What was that thing you gave me?"

"Something you may not have where you come from," the boy replied cheerfully while standing up. "It's called a Senzu bean." He then wasted no time in heading over to Krillin, where he pulled another of the medicinal miracles out and placing it in his open hand.

"Remarkable," Kana exclaimed, checking herself once more before looking up and seeing her former opponent give out more beans to the others. Even though Vegeta frowned upon having to take one, he accepted it either way and bit the metaphorical bullet. "Fruits that can heal the sick and treat the wounded. This planet certainly is the most amazing in the entire cosmos."

Gohan chuckled and turned back to the teenager, slipping the bag into his belt and gazing at her kindly. "Well… I'm not sure about other fruits and vegetables, but Senzu beans definitely get the job done. Only one person on this planet knows how to grow them… and coming across these particular beans in the wild is next to impossible."

Chuckling, Kana gave him an understanding nod, "I see. Well, I'll be sure to document this for later study."

While Kana engaged in conversation with Gohan and the others stood back, Krillin took a moment to crouch down and feed Eighteen the bean. Gently encouraging her to swallow it, the bald fighter waited patiently for it to take effect and watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Hey. You alright?" Krillin asked in a quiet voice.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm okay." Groaning and massaging the bridge of her nose, the young woman looked up to see who was leaning over her and watched her vision slowly clear, "W-What happened?"

Smiling in relief, Krillin grinned at the beautiful android as she regained her bearings, "Well… it's a bit of a long tale. I'll tell yah about it later."

A little bit surprised to find the short fighter standing over her, the blonde android gave a momentarily hard look and quickly stood up. Turning her back on the other Z-fighters standing around her so as to hide her flustered expression, her actions, despite their subtlety, failed to miss the notice of the ever watchful Zangya.

Smiling at the sight and feeling her strength return to her thanks to the bean, the blue-skinned woman then stood by quietly, watching as Gohan made his peace with the girl that was formerly their enemy. It was during which time the alien woman once again found herself completely baffled by the character of the demi-Saiyan. _"First he saves me, then he spares me, and now, not only does he show mercy to an opponent, he also helps her and treats __**me**__ as well." _Her glare narrowed in frustration when she saw the boy chuckle and massage his scalp through his spiky blonde hair. "Geez. What is up with this brat?"No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't figure him out.

After several moments of standing around and adjusting their clothing, Gohan then gave the ruined field a look over before turning back to Kana, "I think… we may have overdid it a little bit. Not counting the damage we did to the countryside, the city is going to need some patchwork."

Kana, also seeing the problem, then threw the demi-Saiyan a smile. "Not to worry. I can have this fixed up in no time."

A little bit confused by her response, Mirai Trunks gave her a frown, "How?" Even Piccolo and Vegeta had their interests spiked. "You guys did wreck quite a lot of the planet."

"Simple. Like this." Cracking her fingers, the glowing haired alien beamed up towards the sky and placed her hands on her hips. "Bit! Please run the damage control software for Terra 4032-877." Bringing confused looks to the fighters as she seemed to be talking to somebody but couldn't see or sense anyone at all, they then became aware of a bright light shining high above them.

Looking up into the clouds, the group suddenly saw an orange beam shoot down from the heavens and strike Satan City, before rippling outwards in an orange wall of energy in all directions. Watching the wave approach them and flash past, putting most of the fighters on guard sans for Eighteen and Gohan, the group then found themselves standing in a lush, untouched farmland, the wave of energy having seemingly wiped it clean of all damage and replacing it with its previous state. In no time at all, the planet had been mended and refurbished.

Gawking at the physics bending repairs that'd been made, Trunks and everybody else looked back at the girl to see her smirking proudly at them.

"H-How did you do that?" Krillin asked in astonishment.

Grinning cheekily at the startled looks on the warriors' faces, Kana gave them a 'V' sign. "After I scanned your planet I was able to get a detailed copy of the world's specs. Using the same system of code I use to compress worlds, I can use the same software to repair them. It's a really complicated process to explain…"

"Oh. Really?" Krillin murmured, before then looking across at the other fighters to see them still in disheveled and battle-ruined states. "So… I'm guessing this doesn't work on living people?"

"Unfortunately not," Kana replied while giving a nervous giggle. "I only scanned the planet, not the life forms. If I was to try fixing clothing with the same system, with the material being so close to live tissue, it might end up doing something unpleasant…"

That was all that was needed to have the short fighter cringe, "Ah… fair enough." It was a response that had Android 18# grunt and turn away.

Vegeta, losing patience with this light show, then fixed his glare on the cheerfully grinning girl and spoke up from his side of the repaired field. "While all this is nice and all, I take it since the brat has now beaten you into the ground and shown you what a _true_ Saiyan warrior is capable of, isn't it about time you packed your things and left?" He was still obviously sore at being beaten by this woman and wanted to see her leave as soon as possible.

Expecting this question from the prince, the teenage girl beamed and nodded, "Yeah. I guess I should. One shouldn't overstay their welcome. But before I do, I still have a few more things I need to settle here before I can officially close the book on this case."

"What things?" Vegeta asked impatiently with a look resembling one Piccolo was also throwing the girl.

Unshaken by the displeased stares he was receiving from the group surrounding her, Kana beamed towards the still transformed Gohan and approached him. Stopping just a few feet in front of him, she raised a hand to place over her chest and bowed to him respectfully. It was a gesture that was met by surprise from the young warrior.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to do battle with you, Son Gohan," Kana spoke, straightening up. "After so many years of traveling this universe, I have long since forgotten the last time I had to do battle with a warrior of your incredible strength and skill. You're probably the first fighter who has ever pushed me as hard as you did."

The spiky haired male smiled and acknowledged her kind words, "Thanks. It's… also the first time I've ever had to fight someone like you as well." He then spared her a cheerful grin, "You were awesome. I only wish you could stick around for a little while longer. I'd really like to show you around."

Kana grinned at his wishful response, but then her expression fell slightly as she gave him an inquisitive look. It was one that did not go unnoticed by the observant group of fighters standing around them. "I'd… also like to thank you for going out of your way to help me. Even with my planet's recovery unit onboard my ship, I do not believe I would have lived long enough to heal from the amount of damage I received during our battle." Her statement drawing a surprised blink from the boy, she then stepped closer and leaned in, causing Gohan to pull away slightly. "Any other person would have let me die without giving me a second thought, so why did you help me when you could have easily left me as I was?"

Not really needing to think on it for any longer than he had to, the young warrior smiled, "I just did what my father would've done." He then tilted his head cheerfully. "Even though you were my enemy, I knew you weren't a bad person. You actually went out of your way to avoid hurting other people and getting innocent lives involved in our battle." He noticed this both above the city and on the highway, where they fought against each other while avoiding the civilians as much as possible. A wider grin spread across his lips, "You're the nicest alien invader who's ever come to visit our planet. There's no way I could let someone kind and gentle like you die. It would be madness on me if I did."

Her expression transforming into one of awe as she listened to every word Gohan spoke, Kana spent the next few minutes gazing at the boy. After processing his honest words and looking closely at his face, the girl suddenly felt something strange rush through her chest and a heat flood into her cheeks.

Eyes shimmering while she continued to stare at the youthful fighter, the girl suddenly gasped and allowed a gentle smile to form. Taking a step back for air, Kana returned to her normal, energetic and spunky self, and grinned across at her opponent with renewed sense of purpose. "Well, you're definitely the most one-of-a-kind fighter I've ever come across. There's no denying that. Believe it or not, but it's incredibly hard to come across a warrior from another planet who's not only strong, but compassionate and gentle as well. It's a shame I have to leave so soon. I would really like to hang around with you a little while longer, Gohan." She then had another switch in expressions and threw the half-Saiyan a mischievous smile, "Unless… _you_ want to come with me."

This statement caught everyone by surprise, with Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin and Zangya giving the girl their complete and undivided attention. Gohan especially was quite taken aback. "Umm… come with you? W-What do you mean by that?"

"Well… you see…" Giggling, Kana began to walk circles around Gohan, placing a finger and thumb on her chin as she inspected the boy from head to toe. "Unlike other Seirei, I have very simple tastes… and I share a deep love and enthusiasm for extremely rare and valuable objects." The Z-fighters watched her intently, wondering what in the world she was doing as she poked the boy in the shoulder and turned him around. When the youngster was facing his friends, the girl stopped in front of him again and beamed. "This also includes rare aliens."

"Uhh… okay," Gohan murmured, not really knowing where this was going.

Kana grinned at him, "It's the reason why I travel; looking for stuff that nobody else can find." Her gaze then turned into one expressing fondness as she gazed at the half-Saiyan. "Unfortunately, it gets very lonely traveling through space in such a big ship all by oneself. If you come with me, I will gladly become your mate and support you faithfully for the rest of my life."

At that statement, almost all the Z-fighters standing around the pair nearly fell over in shock, including Vegeta and Eighteen. Managing to hold on, the group instead stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the girl's back, who watched with fascination as Gohan became thunderstruck and his expression twisted into one of bewilderment. Almost all the blood in his body ran up to his face when he saw the disarmingly beautiful smile Kana threw at him afterwards.

"W-W-What? M-M-M-M-Mate?" Oh, he knew what that word meant. He'd read enough biology texts to understand the implications of that situation. "B-But… why me?"

Kana licked her lips and stepped around to his right side, where she then gleefully wrapped her arms around his muscular one and pressed her ample bosom into his shoulder affectionately. Her action had Gohan blush to the roots of his hair and a shiver run up his spine. "Like I said, I really love rare and valuable things. You are a Saiyan; one of the rarest and most endangered races in the universe. You're also incredibly kind, intelligent, and possess a strong sense of righteousness and virtue you don't find in many warriors. Members of my race are extremely particular about the partners that they choose and can spend decades searching for someone who is not only mentally compatible with them, but also has a good heart and all the physical traits needed to help them bear a healthy offspring. We also mate for life… showing love and devotion to no other… though seeing as how you're a Saiyan, I'd be willing to 'split the reward'." Her expression lit up all the more as her cheeks seemed to glow. "You're the rarest gem I've ever come across… and I'd be more than happy to choose you as my partner."

Completely baffled by what the girl was saying to him, which had his face light up like a bulb, the innocent young Saiyan swallowed hard when he felt the girl hold him closer and looked across at his friends for help.

Unfortunately for him, every single one of them from Piccolo to Zangya was staring at them with codfish expressions, eyes wide as saucers and mouths hanging open. Quickly realizing he wasn't going to be getting any assistance from them, the young Super Saiyan 2 sucked it up and turned back to look at Kana, who was still beaming at him in a way that had his stomach doing summersaults.

"Well?" Kana asked.

Gohan grinned, "A-As tempting as that sounds… I'm… going to have to pass." His eyes reflecting his sincerity, he looked down at the girl as her expression reverted to one of inquisitiveness. "You're a great fighter and an amazing girl, Kana. If I could, I would definitely go with you. But I made a promise. I've got my duties here on earth, and friends and family to look after. I can't leave all of that behind." He then nodded to her, "I'm sorry but… I have to stay here." It was the honest truth.

He couldn't leave. Not to mention the whole thing about 'mating' and 'life partners' had stirred some rather strange feelings inside of him that scared him out of his wits. But, being the brave Saiyan warrior that he was, he pressed forward and, using kind words, let the girl down as gently as possible.

At first Kana just seemed to stare at him, obviously processing his response for the next several seconds as silence reigned over them. Eventually though, the girl gave a smile once again and with a chuckle, she detached herself from the boy and promptly stepped away. "Oh well. If that's your decision, then I'm not going to argue." She then moved back, grinning across at the Super Saiyan 2 with a devilish air reflected in her expression. "Still, it's a shame you can't come with me. You and I would have made a great team."

Gohan chuckled, his face losing the shade of red as he finally acquired breathing space once again. "Yeah." That was one hell of a reaction for him though. Maybe he was finally starting to reach that age where girls were beginning to hold a bit more 'significance' in his life. Whatever the reason though, he was just glad he wasn't dying of high blood pressure anymore. "If you like you can come visit us again sometime… you know, if you're not too busy."

Kana giggled, "I think I'd like that." She then reached to her side and pressed a section of her waist plating, where a puff of steam then ejected some sort of metallic card. Withdrawing it, the girl held it up and allowed it to take shape into a USB device for earth's computers, which had Gohan blink at in surprise before she stepped towards him and handed it over. "Here."

Curious, Gohan reached out and grabbed it, "What is it?"

"A little present… in case you ever want to contact me again." She allowed the boy to take the device and grinned at him. "It also has a little training sheet on it, which I wrote up just then based off of earth's languages."

Gohan became even more curious and tilted his head, "Training sheet?"

Kana grinned, "You saw me using that teleportation technique in our fight, yes?" Seeing him nod, the girl then gestured to the data. "It's a technique known by many as _**Instantaneous Movement**_. Members of my race use this to travel long distances in an instant and can even jump to worlds all across the universe, even move between dimensions. Unlike the technique practiced by the Yardrats, this one is a lot more efficient and can be used at a moment's notice. Since my ship is my home and the vessel I use to transport planets, I don't use the technique very often." She then stepped back and took on a smug look. "I love to travel the old fashioned way anyway. Uses less energy."

"Oh, awesome! Thanks so much, Kana!" Gohan exclaimed, looking down at the USB stick at the same time, "Man! I can't wait to try this out!" He then blinked when his mind eventually picked up an important notice and looked across at the girl nervously. "B-But… I don't have anything to give you in return."

"Well…" Kana smiled across at the young man enthusiastically. "I _am_ curious to learn about how your friends were able to track me down without use of a scouter." She glanced around at the Z-fighters watching them carefully and beamed back at the youngster. "You seem to be able to locate people by using only your minds. I wouldn't mind learning how this technique works."

Gohan grinned, "Oh, you mean _ki reading_?"

The alien nodded, "Yeah. I think that sounds like a fair trade."

Acknowledging this, the half-Saiyan then continued to speak, "Well… it's an ability that allows the user to sense the location of a person by searching for their life force or ki signature. Every single person's spiritual energy registers differently, so you're not just able to sense how strong they are, you can even identify who they are if you've already encountered them once. It's a really helpful technique to learn, especially when you can't see, smell or hear your opponent anywhere in the area." He then raised a finger and tapped it against his head. "We do this by focusing our minds and extending our senses out to feel the power levels inside of people; the same energy used to create blasts and stuff. The stronger and closer the person is, the more powerful the sensation. It's like looking for a particular colored light in a dark room. You just need to get a feel for their presence and hone in on it." A wide smile then formed on his face, "It's quite a simple technique to learn. All you have to do is focus."

When the demi-Saiyan finished explaining, he saw Kana's scouter pop up and blink a few times, as if processing his words. After a couple of seconds, she deactivated it and smiled, "Thanks so much, Gohan." She then looked around at the people around her, giving them one last glance before nodding. "Yep. I think I've got this _ki reading_ down pat."

Krillin balked, "That fast?"

Grinning at her success, Kana then referred to Gohan and beamed at him for what would be her last time for a long while. "Well, it's been a blast. I'm really glad I was able to come here and fight with you guys."

The young Saiyan chuckled, "Stay out of trouble."

"I'll try," the girl replied, turning side on and giving the boy another look, "Stay on your toes. There are a lot of powerful monsters out there; aliens even worse than me… so I suggest you keep an extra eye out for them and keep training." Upon seeing the demi-Saiyan nod, her stare then became mischievous, "Don't slip up. And hey… if you ever feel like procreating sometime Gohan, give me a ring… or come by my ship and visit me whenever. You have my number." She then gave him a wink, which brought another deep shade of red to the boy's face and caused him to look away in embarrassment. When he looked back a couple seconds later, he was able to give her a smile to send the girl off, who saluted in response. "See you around."

Then, without another word, the girl levitated off the ground, tucked herself up, and wrapped her body up in her metallic pod. Upon which she then shot up into the sky, breaking the sound barrier on takeoff, and vanished into the clouds. The Z-fighters all watched her leave and when they sensed her presence return to her ship, everyone looked back down at each other, but mostly towards Gohan.

"Well… that was interesting," Trunks commented, finally recovering from the shock of everything that'd happened.

"Hmph. If you say so," Vegeta replied, uncrossing his arms and starting to walk away. "I've had enough of this circus performance for one day. I'm leaving." Without even so much as a careless wave, the still sore Saiyan Prince took flight and headed off for West City, leaving the others in his dust and his son staring after him.

Shrugging after seeing his dad leave on his own accord, the lavender haired boy sighed and grinned back at his companions. "Hopefully things won't be so hectic next time." He then saluted them and gave an especial wave to Gohan, who returned it in kind, "I'll see you guys later." He then took off after his father's shadow.

After seeing the two Saiyans leave, Krillin then grinned mischievously across at the spiky haired hybrid standing in the center and spoke, "Getting propositioned by an alien chick after beating the crap out of her. You dog!"

Stumbling at the comment, Gohan glared back at the man. "Oh, come on, Krillin! Knock it off!" His exclamation drew a hearty laugh from the human Z-fighter and a roll of the eyes from Eighteen and Zangya.

Taking momentary notice of the latter of the two girls standing there and giving her a thoughtful look, the demi-Saiyan then suddenly took notice of a person jogging across the fields towards them. Squinting to see who it was, Gohan then blinked when he recognized it was Videl and a happy expression returned to his once embarrassed face. Not even bothering to power down, he quickly left the center of the former crater and immediately began jogging towards his friend, while at the same time waving back at his battle worn teammates.

"See yah guys. I've got errands to run."

Piccolo, Krillin, Zangya and Eighteen saw him off, three of them with their arms folded and looking passive as usual, whereas the shortest of them was smiling brightly.

Running across the open field, the boy skidded to a stop at the same time Videl did, leaving the two kids staring across at one another and beaming.

"Hey," the girl greeted.

"Hey," Gohan smirked back.

Not knowing what to say to each other at first, even though they were standing several miles away from the city and in the middle of a farmer's disused field, the youngsters continued looking at one another. It was then, after shaking out of their dazes, the two started to move a little, with the pig-tailed girl taking her time in analyzing Gohan's state.

Looking at his tattered clothes and heavily beaten appearance, Videl chuckled, "You look like hell."

The half-Saiyan chuckled, "I feel like it too. It's a set."

Looking up at his gravity defying blonde locks, the young martial artist reached up and ran her fingers through them. "Wow. I've never seen this look on you before. Is this that second transformation you were telling me about?"

"Yep. The one and only," Gohan said, feeling the girl flick the bang in front of his face. "Sorry if it's a little bit scary."

Videl shrugged, "It's not that scary. You seem pretty cool to me." Seeing the boy smile back at her, the young teen placed her hands on her hips and took him in completely. "Your opponent must have been pretty tough to push you this far. After your fights with Cell and Bojack, I didn't think there would be anyone else strong enough to make you work so hard." Still, she'd seen what that girl could do. It was nuts.

"It's a big universe out there," Gohan said, glancing up towards the sky for a bit and giving it a few seconds of consideration, "I wouldn't be surprised if there were any more people like her roaming the stars." When Videl also glanced upwards, the two faced each other again when the demi-Saiyan continued to speak. "After fighting Kana today, I know now that I have to train even harder if I want to continue to protect the earth. If there are any other aliens out there who are going to be coming here looking for a fight, then I have to be as ready as I can be to face them."

The raven haired girl nodded in understanding, "Yeah. I agree."

Sensing her shared enthusiasm as well as picking up something else lingering in her voice, Gohan then thought for a second before flashing her a grin, "Still interested in learning how to fight like me?" After she'd seen everything he could do, he wouldn't be at all put off if his friend was now feeling a little bit intimidated.

Instead of seeing Videl back off, the girl's expression brightened and she clenched her fists excitedly, "Hell yeah!"

Gohan chuckled, "Well then… how about coming to visit me this weekend and we can get you started?"

Eyes sparkling with joy, Videl grinned and nodded her head vigorously, "Yes! Thank you, Gohan-kun!"

After giving the girl a few moments to settle back down, the young demi-Saiyan looked across the way towards Satan City glimmering in the distance. Once he'd reestablished his bearings, he turned back to the girl and pointed over to the metropolis, "I've got a few things I need to do before heading home. Wanna join me?"

Videl nodded to him, "Sure." She then balked a little when the boy stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her lithe form; an act which drew a slight blush to her cheeks. A second later, she then felt the ground leave their feet as the boy took off into the sky. At first gripping onto him fearfully, the girl then became more relaxed when she felt the demi-Saiyan had her and began marveling at the landscape as it passed her by. She then turned back to the hero of the day and fixed on his hair, "You going to stay like that, blondie?"

The half-Saiyan grinned, "Yeah. Since I'm already in this form I may as well practice getting more used to it." He figured he'd try for a couple weeks this time and break his record.

"Works for me." His response drew a grin from the girl. "I think you look good with blonde hair."

Laughing as they flew off, the pair was seen off by the still present Z-fighters in the field behind them. The sight of the two kids drawing a slight smile to Piccolo's face, the green-skinned man then focused his attention on Zangya, who was staring after the boy intently with a firm expression in play.

His own serious contours returning, the Namekian decided to step over to her and see what was troubling her.

Even though she did help them in their battle, the former guardian of earth was still suspicious of her and had made it to a point to shadow the Hera as much as possible.

"Why?" Zangya asked in a quiet voice, drawing curious glances from Krillin and Eighteen standing alongside her.

"Why what?" Piccolo asked, unflinching as ever.

"Why did he do all that?" the alien girl elaborated, narrowing her gaze when they saw the pair of kids disappear into the distance. "He spared me and that girl… even though he could have killed either of us without a second thought. Even though I was his enemy, someone who hurt his friends and the people he cares about… I just can't understand why he let a person like me live?" It was the very question that'd been stabbing at her since that fateful day back at the tournament on the island. "He killed Bojack… but why didn't he kill me?"

To that, the Namekian had an easy answer, "Because Gohan must have seen something inside of you that he thought was worth preserving." The warrior's words drew Zangya's gaze up to him, while he continued to stand there with a sagely look on his face. "He isn't a ruthless person by nature. The boy is kind and gentle, someone who cherishes life and the people around him above everything else. On the inside, he's not a coldhearted warrior like me, you, or Vegeta for that matter. If I was to summarize who Gohan really is… he's a merciful person, plain and simple." When he sensed the look of surprise and inquisitiveness reflected on the woman's face, Piccolo continued to speak, only this time a smile appeared on his face. "It's the very same person that showed me what it meant to have a friend."

Krillin sprouted a grin, "Yeah… that sounds like our Gohan."

Zangya, eyes wavering when she heard the man finish, looked down at the ground thoughtfully for the next minute. In that time, as her mind processed what was spoken to her, she felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. Like a pair of shackles had just been removed, her body became even lighter and a warm feeling burned deep inside of her chest that sent a surge of life rushing through her.

At that moment, Zangya felt content, and looking up towards the city, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

Hearing her say it despite her quietness, Krillin and Eighteen smiled. So did Piccolo. And with that, the four of them returned to staring over the horizon as a gentle breeze brushed over them.

For all they knew, a big change was coming for all of them, and they were all looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

OOO

(Meanwhile – Otherworld)

King Kai breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that was intense." Thank goodness it didn't drag on for too long. Thanks to Gohan, the earth was saved from yet another harrowing experience.

Smiling after watching the battle come to an end, Goku pulled his hand away from his teacher and watched as all the other fighters around them returned to their business. Even the West Kai left with a little more vigor than he had previously, allowing the master and student some time to themselves.

"I gotta say, your boy sure knows how to show a girl a good time," the blue-skinned man chuckled while sparing a glance at the Saiyan.

Goku snickered and placed his hands on his hips, "Gohan's growing up fast." Hell, it wouldn't be too long before the youngster was as tall as him one day.

Boy. That was a scary thought.

His mind then clicking back to the memories of the fight, the spiky haired hero grinned nervously and leaned over to whisper to his teacher, "Umm… King Kai, about Jupiter…"

OOO

(Meanwhile)

Once Kana had docked with her vessel still floating suspended above the planet, the girl wasted no time in closing up the hatch, having a nice, long hot shower, and returning to the cockpit to get underway. Discarding her ruined plug suit to the recycling, leaving her in only her underwear with a towel draped over her neck, the fiery haired girl strolled up to the cockpit and sat herself down in the smooth, plush seat of the pilot's throne. It was here the girl let out a sigh, rotated in her seat, and turned to look out the front window.

Seeing the earth hanging directly in front of her through the enormous visor of her vessel, the clouds drifting over the planet's oceans and continents in swirling sheets, the girl's gaze took on a look of forlorn while her finger tapped against her arm rest. Watching the planet rotate and listening to her ship's incredibly sophisticated helm and transparent control panels hum away, the girl then became aware of a familiar series of beeping noises. A second later, a blue hologram of a small, robotic figure appeared on the dashboard.

Hands behind his back, the armored hologram looked at the exhausted girl with noticeable concern. _"Ma'am. Is there something wrong?"_

"Hello, Bit," Kana greeted, expression remaining unchanged as she rocked back and forth in her seat. "No… nothing's wrong."

"_I'm detecting some unusual breathing patterns in your body's respiratory system. Your brain is also giving off some very mild yet uneven electrical signals. Are you sure you're doing alright?"_

"Yes. I'm fine. It's just…" the girl paused for a moment, a momentary look of sadness coming over her before she leaned back and rested her head on her hand. When she closed her eyes and opened them some moments later, you could see her irises shimmering. A sad sigh escaped her lips again, "I met someone really incredible today… a kindhearted young man and one hell of a fighter." Her expression then fell slightly, "I doubt I'll ever meet someone like him again."

"_Ah yes. This __**Son Gohan**__ from Mount Paozu,"_ the A.I replied, at the same time pulling up a profile picture of the boy on the hologram projector and suspending it in front of Kana, who spent the next few seconds staring at it. _"I watched the recordings of your battle with him from your suit. He was undoubtedly an impressive specimen."_

Kana smiled, her expression taking on a faraway look as she gazed at the demi-Saiyan's face. "Yes. He really is." Staring at Gohan's picture for several moments, the girl then stretched her arms over her head and leant back, kicking her feet up onto the control panel in front of her like it was a desk and resting back. "Anyway… my business here is concluded. Mark this planet as 'protected', eject the satellite from our link bay and prepare for warp jump." With her towel still flung over her neck, Kana then turned her attention to the visor in front of her and ran her finger through the air, pulling a couple of hologram nodes across and beginning to give commands to her vessel. "Set coordinates for Sector 15."

"_Of course, ma'am,"_ Bit replied, a series of beeps ringing out as the ship was prepped and readied for flight. As a low humming sound started to echo throughout the vessel's interior, the A.I then looked away from the ship's windscreen and fixated on the girl kicking back in her helm's seat once again. _"Would you like to listen to some music on our way there?"_

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that," Kana exclaimed, a wide grin forming on her face as she looked out the window of her vessel as it started to rotate away from the planet. Seeing the Capsule Corp. satellite drift away, the girl continued typing into the hologram panel next to her, "Did you manage to separate all of the information we were able to download into individual drives?"

"_Yes. Of course. I categorized all of the data we were able to collect from Earth's satellite, killed the bugs and arranged them all in their order of significance,"_ Bit replied, earning an understanding nod from the pilot.

"Excellent. So…" Kana beamed at her incredibly helpful A.I. "Whatcha got for me? I could use with some in-flight entertainment." For every planet she'd visited in her lifetime, she'd been able to collect an enormous amount of information on their cultures and history. While a lot of the facts regarding their history were mostly white noise and she panned over that stuff easily, it was the cultural stuff she was most interested in.

A lot of worlds she'd visited in the past had some very interesting tastes in cinema, which she… illegally downloaded.

Bit, appealing to his master's whims, bowed his head._"I think I've found something that may be to your liking."_ There was then a click, followed by two seconds of silence.

Then, before Kana knew it, her ears were filled with the chant of 'Ouga Chaka' as Blue Swede's _**Hooked on a Feeling**_ started blaring out over the speakers inside the vessel. Gradually starting to bob her head to the beat, the fiery haired girl felt a grin spread across her lips as she laid further back in her seat, allowing it to go full incline while her ship lined up with the stars.

"Oh yeah. Now _this_ is what I'm talkin' about," Kana remarked and closed her eyes, basking in the melody of earth's music, completely unaware of how old it was.

A hum and a bright orange glow from the ship later, and the oval shaped vessel fired its engines and rocketed off into the cosmos with a crack of light.

It was gone in the blink of an eye…

OOO

(Sometime Later)

Back in Mount Paozu, the sun was starting to set over the mountains. With the sky turning orange and the animals beginning to return to their homes to roost, Gohan could be seen dropping down from the sky to land in front of his home's entrance. Once on the ground, the boy stepped forward and opened the door, where he then made his way into the living room to see his mother sitting anxiously on the couch.

Chi-Chi looked up when she sensed her son's return and stood up to greet him in the typical manner, "Gohan! Where have you been? You've been gone for hours! I was so worri-GAH!" She jumped in shock when she saw the still Super Saiyan 2 form of her eldest boy step around the corner, his orange and blue gi in tatters and his form covered in all sorts of gunk. Hand gripping her chest, the mother quickly recomposed herself, "W-What in the world happened to you?"

He looked like someone had run over him with a lawnmower.

Despite his ascended Saiyan state, the boy still wore the characteristic Son grin and, walking further into the room, he revealed he was carrying his mother's order, all of which were covered in the dry cleaning bags. This was obviously to protect them from getting ruined on the flight home.

"Sorry, mum. I got a little bit… sidetracked." Was that the right word? Yeah. Sure it was.

Seeing the sheepish look appear on the Super Saiyan's face, Chi-Chi let out a sigh and marched up to tower over her spiky haired son. "You're your father's son alright; always getting into some sort of trouble. Geez." She shook her head. "What am I ever going to do with you?"

"Well, I know one thing…" Gohan replied, smile widening, "If I want to stop being dragged through mountainsides and fields by freakishly strong opponents, I've got a lot more training I have to do." Seeing his mother stare at him for a moment before giving him a small, loving smile, the boy then brightened up again and looked the woman square in the eyes. "Oh yeah, guess what. Videl's coming over this weekend."

Chi-Chi clapped her hands together, "That's wonderful, Gohan. I'll be sure to make something special for when she comes by. We'll make her feel right at home." She then clenched her fists and looked up towards the ceiling victoriously. "Oh, I can see it right now. Grandchildren galore…"

Blushing and laughing nervously at the woman's sparkling eyes, the young demi-Saiyan then remembered why he'd been sent out in the first place and pulled Chi-Chi's new clothes around to dangle in front of him. "By the way mum, why'd you send me to pick these up for you?" He could've sworn his mother already had a couple new sets of clothing, only these ones were a little bit bigger.

Gazing back down at the boy in surprise, Chi-Chi's expression then softened as she walked forward and placed a hand on her son's shoulder. When she did, she looked him right in the eyes and said something to him that would mark the first step to what would be the biggest change in their lives. "Because… in just a few months, the two of us are going to become a family of three, Gohan." Seeing the Super Saiyan 2 give a few confused blinks, his mother's smile widened and she laid a hand across her belly, which she then rubbed tenderly. "You're going to be a big brother."

At that exact moment, once the realization of his mother's words passed through his head, Gohan's face lit up with a thousand kilowatt smile.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I wish they did something like this in the original series. Making Goku the hero again was the silliest decision ever.

Now, just to make a note, this won't be a harem story. It's primarily a GohanXVidel story.

If anyone wants to read the harem portions of this story, I'll be posting them as separate one shots, so you guys can look forward to those. :) Including GohanXVidelXErasa, GohanXVidelXZangya, GohanXZangya etc. Of course, this all depends how it goes so I hope you all stay tuned.

Kana just develops a bit of a crush on Gohan. lol. And for two good and very unusual reasons. One: he's strong. Two: she loves rare things. Three if you count his kindness and good looks as well. Everything is there for her.

Next up, the seven year gap will happen. This will play out in a montage, so you'll be able to see what Gohan does over the seven years in flashes, which I would think would be really effective in the anime series with the right music (note: you're going to have to imagine the music).

While we're on that note, Kana listening to music was inspired off of Guardians of the Galaxy. That music totally fits!

Well, see yah next chapter.

**P.S: To everyone posting me power level suggestions… please stop.**


	7. A New Dawn

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_A New Dawn_

(Mount Paozu)

The loud beeping sound of a generic, bedside alarm clock resounded throughout the small, single-person bedroom of one Son Gohan, causing its sole resident to stir under his covers. When the incessant noise failed to rouse the youngster after the first few seconds, the volume of its screeching suddenly grew even louder; so much so that it looked as though the glass of his window was about to shatter.

This sudden increase in noise finally pulled the demi-Saiyan out of his dream world who, after giving a low groan of discomfort, reached over and slapped a hand down on the piece of plastic to shut off the damn thing. Unfortunately, due to the force of his actions he ended up not only flattening the entire clock, he also wound up putting his hand through the surface of his desk.

Hearing the noise of the device die completely as it shattered into a thousand pieces, Gohan's head surfaced from underneath his blanket, revealing him in his Super Saiyan 2 state.

A scowl framed his face while he slowly pulled his fist out of his now ruined bedside drawer, "Damn it. Again? Ugh…" He really needed to ask Bulma if he could buy some of that Vegeta-proof-stuff she was designing for the guy to use around the house. Kami knew that he could really use with some of it…

Maybe even beg her for a Gravity Room he could set up in the backyard somewhere while he was at it.

Anyway, after destroying yet another ten zeni timepiece and ruining his table in the process, the Super Saiyan 2 sat up and stretched, feeling his muscles pop one after the other.

According to his count, it'd been close to a week since the Kana incident; making that three, potentially earth-moving conflicts the Z-fighters had had to combat in just one year. But of course, the crisis had been successfully averted thanks to good old-fashioned fisticuffs and once law and order had been properly restored to the communities of the continent, the earth was once again allowed to continue turning as if nothing had ever happened.

This went to show that even in peacetime the Z-fighters were all hard at work.

It was probably the most ongoing trend for Gohan and his friends. All of them had saved the planet so many times and yet have received no acknowledgements for their actions. Though it didn't bother him or his family so much, since they preferred to peace and quiet, a couple of the others were feeling a little bit cheated out of their honors, namely Yamcha and Krillin. But, not being ones to hold grudges for the sake of wellbeing and serenity, they let the credit-taking slide, and returned as productive, hard-working members of society.

Gohan in the meantime tackled his training regimens even harder than ever.

With the knowledge that there were even more powerful fighters out there in the universe outside of Bojack and Frieza, the boy resolved to make some much needed amendments to his previous routine, starting with his extended study periods. After telling his mother about his little scrap with Kana across the planet that nearly saw all of them put up for public auction, the Son mother, satisfied with the progress her son had made in his education and studies, reluctantly allowed him to train more times during the week with the promise that he would be able to use his skills to provide a steady income for his family.

Feeling as if a great weight was being lifted from his shoulders, Gohan assured Chi-Chi that he would be able to get some part-time work at a construction company over in Satan City, similarly to what his father and Krillin had done while they had been training under Master Roshi. With his level of skill, strength and knowledge of building, the boy was confident he would be able to fill up an entire roster of staff for the business, thereby saving them a lot on big projects.

Gohan also had the incredibly attractive idea of entering the _World Martial Arts Tournaments_ to get some extra spending money for his family, since they could surely use it.

Approving of his plan, Chi-Chi pretty much allowed Gohan free reign over the next couple of weeks so that he could get all of his priorities sorted before moving into anything big. So with an idea in mind and a new plan for the future coming to light, the demi-Saiyan spent a majority of his time training out in the fields.

Not only did it allow him plenty of opportunities to think, clear his head and make some independent arrangements for the coming years, it also gave him more time to become accustomed to his Super Saiyan 2 form. Having already stayed like this for several days since his battle against Kana, Gohan was really starting to come into his own.

Though he did experience sudden mood swings every now and then, his naturally kind side battling with the aggressive side of his level two state, he learned to get a hold of himself through quiet meditation and concentration. After long periods of settling his spirit and finding his true self swirling in the depths of all his monstrous power, the demi-Saiyan would then go out and do some physical exercises that focused on control above everything else, which really helped him in acquiring a firmer grasp of his Ascended Saiyan state. It also strengthened his body in general, as continuing to hold this form required a great deal of effort and focus.

Understandably, every once in a while he did have these surprising and unexpected bursts of strength, which led him to damaging one thing or another around the property.

This morning it had been his whole bedside station.

Granted it wasn't something as big as the dining room chair, the T.V remote or the front door, it was still another thing broken. Hopefully he would be able to fix that sometime soon.

After waking up early that Saturday morning and noticing that it was still dark out, the transformed boy flexed his arms and, upon rolling out of bed, quickly slapped on his orange and blue gi. Being sure to quietly tiptoe out of the house, the young half-Saiyan then retreated out onto his property's front lawn and, just like every other early morning, began a series of warm ups and stretching routines.

Going through the familiar motions of his father, starting with his legs, his arms, and then throwing a few light jabs and kicks for practice, kicking up a small gust of wind at the same time, Gohan then took off and headed into the hills. Being sure to put a big distance between himself and his home, the half-Saiyan quickly threw himself into several long rounds of shadow sparring. Holding his power at just the right level so that he didn't cause any unnecessary damage to the region, the spiky haired blonde's form blurred out and sprang into the sky, where he began his eloquent martial dance over the rolling fields of his homeland.

The next few hours practically flew by at a reasonable speed, with Gohan jumping from close combat skills to ki control. He even spent an hour of fighting against himself through use of the _**Cloning**_ technique, which he was able to pick up from Piccolo during the month to help him with his sparring practices.

To the orange haired form of Zangya watching the young warrior from underneath a nearby tree, there was no stranger sight than seeing the person she considered the strongest person in the universe fighting against three other copies of him. As she leaned against the trunk with her arms folded and a firm expression on her face, the female Hera kept her distance while she watched with interest as Gohan battled himself in an effort to discover and eliminate the weaknesses in his fighting style.

He was making cracking progress too.

Eventually, when the sun started to rise over the mountains, the boy ended his bout of fighting with his copies and promptly returned them to his body. After they jumped back into him from different sides and melded into a singularity once again, the demi-Saiyan continued on with a harder round of sparring, this time with a little more power in his blows.

Generating gusts of wind that cut across Mount Paozu's valleys and fields in all directions, the young Saiyan male blurred over the valleys and through the sky at terrific speeds. Eventually, after shadow sparring for several more minutes, the boy dropped to ground level and began back flipping rapidly across the terrain. Landing on his feet and sliding to a stop, the boy cupped his hands beside him and charged a blue ball of ki between his hands in an instant.

"_**KA-ME-HA-ME-" **_Its light blasting out across the grass, Gohan gritted his teeth before flinging his attack forward with a mighty bellow. _**"HAAAAAAAAA!"**_ The blast rocketed from his hands and shot across the valleys, at first traveling in a straight line. But then, all of a sudden, the powerful attack started to curve and bend as the young Super Saiyan warrior took control of the beam's path and guided it safely over the hills and into the sky.

Bringing it around in a wide arc, he eventually brought the blast back down to the ground and directed it towards him. The blue energy wave honed in on his position, prompting the young warrior to spin around and catch the attack with his bare hands. The enormous attack slammed into his palms and burned into them with the ferocity of the sun itself. Eventually, after a full minute of struggling, the powered down Super Saiyan 2 then dug his fingers into the front of the blast and literally ripped it in half. The two parts detonated safely off to the sides with great force, shaking the countryside all around.

Zangya whistled at the size of the explosions. "Wow…" Despite the blast being low key, it still produced a fantastic result.

When the smoke cleared and the embers of energy faded onto the wind, it revealed Gohan standing perfectly unscathed in the center. Patting his hands down and dusting off his gi, the young warrior breathed a sigh of relief and went about loosening his arms and shoulders. _"Good work out. But if I want to get stronger, I'm gonna have to do a lot more than that over the next few months." _Yep. He had a whole list of sessions to work into his days, including technique control and intense weight training.

Before that though, he had a couple other things to have sorted first.

While standing at the top of that hill, the youngster then became aware of a set of eyes on him and turned to see Zangya now standing behind him. Not at all surprised to see her, Gohan gave her a charming smile, "Don't you get a little bit tired just hanging around outside my house all day and night?"

The orange haired girl shrugged, "Well… I'm still new to this planet and I don't have anywhere else to go… plus this place _is_ pretty quiet." A small smile of her own pulled across her lips while she gazed into the distance. "Out here I don't have to worry about traffic, currency, food shortage issues, huge crowds, and people stopping to stare at me whenever I walk past them. Sure I can deal with the attention, but I'd rather just hang out in an area like this where there are only animals and small villages to worry about."

"Hm? Why do you say that?" Gohan asked, not quite seeing the problem.

Zangya looked back at him with an amused smirk, "You may not have noticed this, but it's kind of hard to fit into earth's society when you're a striking alien girl like me… having blue skin, pointy ears and all that nonsense. You and your kind don't have to worry about these kinds of problems, since you Saiya-jins already look a lot like humans and can walk around without having to worry about scaring the daylights out of people every time they glance in your general direction." Vegeta was kind of a massive exception to that fact.

That man was scary by default.

Despite her concerns regarding her appearance though, Gohan merely smiled back at her kindly and shrugged, "I don't see what the big problem is, Zangya. I'm sure you can walk around wherever you want just fine. You look pretty normal to me."

Zangya's expression softened upon hearing the youngster say that, "You're sweet."

Giggling, Gohan massaged his scalp and turned to look towards the horizon as well. Seeing the sun starting to peak over the mountains, the young half-Saiyan chuckled and glanced back at the woman standing in front of him. "I've got a couple hours before Videl comes around. Would you like to hang out with me and have a little sparring match?" The young fighter raised a hand and clenched his fist excitedly. "I think it would be awesome to have another training partner besides Piccolo and myself."

The former gangster chuckled and stepped away, arms still comfortably folded over her chest. "No thanks. I'm not really in the mood."

Gohan responded with a disappointed groan, "Aww. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure," Zangya replied, rolling her eyes at the crestfallen, puppy-eyed look the strongest warrior in the universe was now sending her way. "You already proved several weeks ago that you can beat me without breaking a sweat in your current form, so I think I'll play it safe and stick to watching you for the time being." She then glanced at him when she saw his expression fall just a little bit more and then smirked at him confidently. "But… if you ever turn back to normal and you're still up for it, I'll strongly reconsider having a few bouts with you across the countryside."

This inevitably had the young teenager brighten and tighten his fists with enthusiasm. "Alright. Sure. That sounds awesome."

"Is it just me… or did that sound like you were wussing out there for a second?" the familiar, gravelly voice of Piccolo resounded over the area as the warrior descended from the sky to land between the pair. "I never expected to hear that coming from you."

Glancing at the caped Namekian guardian, Zangya snorted, "Oh. Look who it is. It's the green man." The girl shot him a mischievous smile, "Still dropping in everyday to check up on me, huh?"

"You and Gohan both," Piccolo replied, arms crossed and a glare set on the orange haired warrior standing in close proximity of his student. "I'm just making sure that you don't try anything funny while you're hiding out here in the valleys. You know… being Bojack's former henchwoman and all." You can't be too careful with these kinds of characters. They could be very unpredictable.

All evidence to the contrary though…

"That guy can suck a meteor spike for all I care," the Hera shot back immediately with a frown on her face. Seeing the pair staring at her, the former invader of their planet flicked her hair away and turned her back on the green-skinned martial artist. "You don't have to worry about me blowing a cork while I'm down here. I'm not interested in fighting you guys anymore. I'm done with that kind of life."

"Hmph," Piccolo grunted, before focusing his gaze to his transformed student standing nearby and staring up at him with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Piccolo."

The child's cheerful exterior quickly drew a smile from the Namekian as well. "What's shakin' kid? Did you finish your training for this morning?"

Gohan shrugged, "Not quite. I was hoping to have a little spar with Zangya while she's here, but she said she doesn't want to right now. I'm a little bit disappointed." His attention momentarily pulled across to the woman who merely glanced back at him. After seeing her stick her tongue out, he then turned to his mentor and saw the man remove his cape and turban.

"Don't bleed your heart over it, kid. I wouldn't mind going a few rounds with you for the next hour or so." Unlike their newfound alien friend, if you wanted to call her that, Piccolo wasn't afraid of getting a few bumps and bruises in a fight against the young Saiyan. After seeing his stellar performance against Kana a few days earlier and seeing the progress he's made since the Intergalactic Tournament, the Namekian was confident he had nothing to worry about. He could trust his student enough to be able to control his power around him. "Let's work a bit before that girlfriend of yours shows up."

Not even shirking at the jab about Videl, seeing as his teacher was game for a bit of fun, Gohan cracked his neck and slid into a fighting stance just as his friend of years past did as well. "We've got time. Let's make the most of it, okay Piccolo?"

"Heh. No problem."

Zangya, sensing conflict, wisely chose to put some distance between her and the pair, and floated over to sit atop a nearby log. Crossing her legs over, the orange haired space pirate got comfortable as she watched the pair size themselves up before, in a blur of superhuman movement, threw themselves into a friendly match.

Just like he intended, Gohan kept his power down at the lowest possible decibel as he began trading blows with his teacher across the skies. It wasn't just a workout for the Namekian trying to keep up with his Ascended Saiyan opponent, it was also proving to be a lot of work for Gohan as well, since the adolescent warrior had to keep an extra eye on the amount of power he was using at all times. The next hour or so was spent by the teen primarily working on his control and even when his teacher started throwing some big moves his way, the youngster did marvelously at keeping his strength at a low enough level.

Time eventually ticked over to the end of the session and when the pair dropped out of the sky and landed back on solid ground, both of them were looking a little bit beat, yet were still standing in relatively good condition.

Wiping a small bruise away from a punch he'd received across the face, Piccolo smiled. "Not bad, kid. I'd say with a couple more months of this training, you'll be able to gain complete control over your Ascended Saiyan form and fight with it without exerting any effort whatsoever."

Breathing out as well, the unscathed Gohan stood up and stretched his arms out, "Yeah. I think so too. It's really hard trying to keep so much power suppressed and to fight using only the bare minimum. But if I keep at it and continue using it on a regular basis, I'll be able to transform into a Super Saiyan 2 and fight with it anytime, no problem."

"Heh. I like how you're finally starting to come out of that shell of yours," Piccolo remarked, straightening up and giving his student a sagely look. "You're not the same Gohan I knew two months ago; the kid who was hesitant about stepping up and giving it his all. You're a lot more confident and sure of yourself now. Even though you still act a lot like your father, you're slowly turning into a warrior all your own." A wider smile formed on his face. "All of your hard work is really starting to pay off."

Feeling his spirit lift a little at that remark, the youngster then looked across at their audience member, who was still watching them closely from her log. "What do you think, Zangya?"

The orange haired woman gave an off-handed wave and spoke up, "I wasn't here for all of that Cell and android stuff but… yeah. I agree with what the green man said." She then threw the boy a smile and a thumbs-up. "Good job, blondie."

Accepting that as her answer with a gleeful grin, Gohan hummed away the splashes of encouragement and watched as his teacher retrieved his turban and cloak. Limbering up while the Namekian dusted himself down, the half-Saiyan then reached out with his senses to see what was going on across the ether.

Outside of his training spot, he could feel his mother up and making breakfast, the villagers of the neighboring towns beyond their property waking to greet the day ahead and, a little bit further away but on fast approach of their home turf, he sensed the familiar ki signature of Videl on the move.

And she wasn't alone either.

Smiling towards the horizon, Gohan turned back to his teacher, who he was now standing upright and back in his weighted training gear, "Thanks for agreeing to come by today, Piccolo. I really appreciate the help."

"No problem, kid," the Namekian replied calmly. "When I heard you were planning on taking a student of your own, I immediately became curious. So I decided to keep a closer eye on you to see how you handled it in case you didn't ask for my help. I'm really interested to see how you plan on starting her off. She wants to learn how to become a fighter like us, right?" Seeing the young Saiyan nod elicited a grunt from the towering warrior. "Then she should know that she's got a lot of hard work and long days ahead of her."

Gohan nodded, wrapping his fingers around his belt and holding it in a manner that his father often did, "I was thinking of starting Videl on some running laps of the countryside. Get her used to the routine before introducing her to the energy based material. I need to see how well she's doing in the physical department first and whether she has a good enough grasp of the basics." He then grinned a little bit, "If she does well on her first day, maybe I'll throw in some of _your_ stuff to see how she'll cope swimming in the deep end."

"Sounds good to me," Piccolo replied, finding some mild amusement at the idea of his student using a few of 'his' teaching methods. As cruel as that sounded, he was positive the demi-Saiyan would be a little tamer in his approach to teaching than he was while he was teaching the ankle-biter all those years ago. "Don't forget to teach her how to dodge."

"That's lesson one," Gohan chirped, running a hand through his gravity defying hair. "Wait here for a moment. I'll be back in a bit." After straightening his gi up, he then took off and began leaping across the fields towards his home, leaving Piccolo and Zangya standing out on the grass.

Gohan made it to his front door just in time to see a tiny speck appear over the horizon in the direction of Satan City. When he stopped and waited, he saw the dot get closer and closer before eventually taking the shape and form of a familiar yellow jet-copter.

The craft soon came to hover above the Son family home. Its engine hummed loudly as it slowly came to settle on the grass a few yards in front of the Super Saiyan. When its skids settled and its ignition cut, the boy watched the side door open up and his friend pop out of the passenger seat.

The sight of her brought a smile to Gohan's face. "Morning, Videl."

"Morning, Gohan-kun," the raven haired youngster replied, hurriedly making her way over while the other door to the copter opened up as well. "How are you doing?"

"Great. You?"

"Packed, rested and ready to go," Videl answered, clenching a fist before having a look around his property. Finding not one front yard but an entire expanse of rolling hillsides with forests and mountains in the distance, the girl's eyes shimmered with awe and wonder. "Wow… so this is where you live?"

"Yep. This is our home," Gohan stared, placing his hands on his hips and turning in the same direction his visitor was gazing. "My family owns this entire region. It's also the same place my dad grew up in when he was a kid." He then pointed towards a small, oriental style house sitting not too far from the dome-shaped building that was the central element of their residence. "That's his old home, the one great grandpa used to own… or should I say _adoptive_ great grandfather."

Videl nodded in acknowledgement. "It's very nice. All of it is." She looked back at the youngster standing in front of her, "So… wanna give me the grand tour?"

"Of course. Whenever you're ready," Gohan said.

Before he could set off though, another voice interrupted them.

"Hold it right there, sweet pea," the booming voice of Hercule Satan spoke up, drawing the pair's attention towards the copter to see the man with the afro cut step out from behind it. Adorned in casual clothes consisting of a jumper, jeans and shoes, the big man appeared before the two kids looking proud and confident. "Now, before I let you go off with this boy, I just want to remind him not t-GAHAWHOA!" Until he spotted Gohan, of course.

The still transformed Saiyan smiled and waved pleasantly at the gob smacked champion, "Hey, Mr. Satan."

Jaw hanging open and appearing absolutely shocked, the man with the afro hairstyle laughed nervously and waved, "H-Hello. Uhh…" Staggering forward slowly, the man stood before the much shorter boy in a hunched over position. "So… _you_ were the one my daughter was talking about training with, huh?" There was no way he could forget a face like that. His spiky blonde hair and gi was a dead giveaway.

Videl sighed and glared across at her father, "Of course he is, daddy. Who else did you think I was talking about? Were you even listening to me?"

"S-Sorry, dear. I… I knew who you were talking about. It's just… it's taking a lot of time for me to wrap my head around all this," the world champion replied, looking between his daughter and the boy in front of him nervously. "I mean, the last time I saw him like this was at the Cell Games… fighting against that green freckled monster. He saved my life… _ALL_ of our lives. Hell, he saved the entire planet."

A smile spreading across her lips, Videl stepped over to her friend and tugged on his sleeve, drawing Gohan's gaze over to her. "Yeah. It's kind of his job," the raven haired girl informed, smiling fondly up at him.

Hercule, rubbing his hands together anxiously, then nodded to the demi-Saiyan in a very timid manner. "I'm really sorry about taking the credit for Cell's defeat… as well as for that incident at the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ you were in. I was… it's just… after your group disappeared and no one stepped forward to claim victory over that monster, I took the chance and came up with that bogus story. At the time I just didn't want to lose face with the public… and I wanted to make sure that the people of earth knew that they were safe. But when it happened again at Cash's tournament, everyone thought that _**I**_ was the one that beat those freaky alien monsters when the connection cut out. It was a selfish thing to do, I know, and I apologize." He bowed his head humbly to the young man, who leaned back in surprise at the man's actions. "There are no excuses for what I did… and I can understand if you hate me for it…"

Listening to the sincerity in the martial artist's voice, Gohan slowly processed what he said before beaming brightly, "It's alright, Mr. Satan. You don't have to go that far." When he saw the man look up, the half-Saiyan shrugged. "Seriously, my friends and I don't mind. We're not mad that you took the credit for killing Cell or anything like that. As long as the world and the people are safe, than that's good enough for us."

An owlish expression came over Hercule's face, "R-Really?"

Gohan nodded, while both Hercule and Videl listened to him intently, "My family and friends have fought to save the world many times before, and we've never asked for anything in return. It's what we do." The boy tilted his head and grinned. "Honestly, we're glad you took the credit for it. Because as long as people believe _you_ were the one who saved the world from Cell and Bojack, we won't get harassed by the public for it." He chuckled and thumbed over his shoulder, "We already got pestered by the reporters that came by here wanting to ask me some questions about the tournament, but a friendly 'acquaintance' of mine was able to chase them away."

"S-So…" the Champ gulped nervously, "You're really not angry or anything?"

"No. Not at all," Gohan replied, smiling back at the fighter with the mustache and afro cut, "All I want to do is be friends with Videl and have your permission to come visit her whenever I can, if that's okay with you."

"Oh. Well… if that's all, then…" A swell of delight quickly returned to Hercule's face, "you and my daughter can hang out all you want!" the Champ exclaimed, walking right up to the boy and taking his hand, shaking it vigorously to show how grateful he was to him. "For the boy who saved the world from Cell; you have my full permission!" His answer bringing smiles to the two children's faces, the martial arts master then suddenly gave a stern look and glared across at the teen with the blonde hair. Despite knowing he was the one who defeated Cell, the father still mustered up enough courage to say one last thing. "But you listen here… um…"

"Gohan," the demi-Saiyan chirped, "Son Gohan."

"Gohan," Hercule cleared his throat and pointed a finger at him. "Videl is my daughter and the greatest treasure in the world to me. There is not a person or thing alive that can compare to her. She is my little princess-"

"DAD!" the girl shouted, blushing brightly as she glared at her father.

Undeterred, the Champ continued on with his declaration, "Just because you're the boy who saved the world from that bug and those alien scoundrels on that island, that doesn't mean I'm going to take it easy on you regarding my little sugar bee. I expect you to take good care of my daughter and to treat her well, because if I hear that you've hurt even a single hair on her head, then there is not a force on this planet that's going to stop me from coming after you and popping your head clean off of your shoulders! You got that?!"

Almost being shaken by the shoulder, Gohan smiled back at the father and nodded in understanding, "Don't worry, Mr. Satan. I promise I won't let anything happen to her."

"You mean it?" Hercule asked for confirmation. When he saw the boy nod, the man sniffed and pulled away, fists being placed firmly on his hips. "Good. Good. Er… thank you." He then moved back over to the jet-copter and around to the side. Opening the compartment there, he then unloaded a couple sets of luggage, including a pillow and sleeping bag, and set them on the ground beside the pair. "I hope you two have a lot of fun together. And remember; no drinking, no joy riding, no drugs and no s…"

"DADDY!" Videl barked again, looking even more thoroughly embarrassed than before, "We're only eleven."

"Oh. Right… yeah… umm…" Hercule took a moment to think it over, before calmly falling back into continuation. "The rules still stand!"

Sighing in exasperation Videl then heard the door to the house behind her open up, and the trio standing outside turned to see a woman wearing purple, oriental robes with her black hair tied into a ponytail step out into the open.

Quickly spotting their guests, the Son mother smiled and approached, "Hello there. It's good to see you again, Videl." She went straight for their young visitor standing by her son and held her hand out to her, "I'm Chi-Chi, Gohan's mother."

"Oh. Yes. Hello again," the pig-tailed girl straightened up and took the woman's hand in hers, "Th-Thank you for having me here, Mrs. Son."

The woman giggled. "Please, just call me Chi-Chi. Mrs. Son makes me feel too much like an old lady." Placing her hands at her sides, the raven haired mother took a step away and sized her up. "And of course, Gohan's friends are always welcome here. Anything for my sweet little angel…"

"MUM!" the Super Saiyan 2 blushed and scowled across at the woman beaming at his friend.

Giving her oldest boy a momentary look, Chi-Chi turned back to their guest with a cheerful smile, "I hope you're looking forward to your stay here, Videl. I'm sure you're going to enjoy it."

"Thanks so much, Chi-Chi," the youngster bowed.

Gathering up his friend's bags like a gentleman, Gohan held them under his arms and over his shoulder, walked up to Videl, and nudged her lightly. "Come on. I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Receiving an enthusiastic smile in return, the raven haired girl quickly followed him into the house where they disappeared.

Staring after them for several seconds, Chi-Chi then turned to Hercule to see the big man looking back at her nervously. Upon which the martial arts champion cleared his throat and nodded, "Ma'am."

"Mr. Satan," the Son mother replied with a parental nod of respect.

"I appreciate you for having my daughter over. This… really means a lot to her," the Champ murmured, rubbing the back of his hand in a meek manner as he gazed back at the woman. "I can tell she really likes that boy and that she wants to be around him as much as possible. Just… make sure she eats her food and brushes her teeth every morning and afternoon."

Chi-Chi sucked in her gut confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Satan. I'll make sure that your daughter is well looked after. I promise."

Feeling relieved, Hercule swallowed nervously and bowed to the woman, "I'll drop by every now and again to check up on her. Even though I am the World Martial Arts Champion and the face that defeated the mighty Cell, that doesn't mean I can't set aside some time for my most important little girl in the world…"

"I understand that completely, sir," Chi-Chi responded earnestly, giving the man a kind gaze. "My Gohan means the world to me too. So don't worry. I swear I won't let anything bad happen to either of them." It was the best comfort she could give, which was all Hercule needed to settle the swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

Eventually, after pleasantries and assurances had been made between the two, the world champ waited for his daughter to come back out and after giving her a hug, he hopped into his copter, waved, and took off.

Over the past few days, both Gohan and Videl had assembled one hell of a timetable together.

While the half-Saiyan was still getting a few of his things in order, the champion's daughter had arranged to stay over at his place for the next several weeks. It wasn't just an ordinary sleep over either. The raven haired martial artist was going to be taking fighting lessons under him starting from that very weekend, and Videl was determined to give it her all. She even took some time off from school for 'Hercule Satan' business, which was one of the few privileges granted to her by the institute. Of course, this was under the condition that she completed the course work during her away period over the internet.

After hashing it out with her dad, clearing the air and what not, the raven haired girl then packed her things and readied herself for the long months ahead. Gohan had no problems organizing this with his mother either, who was just as happy to have her son's friend over as he was.

Surely there was some ulterior motive behind her cooperation in the matter, but Gohan wasn't splitting hairs. He was sure that whatever it was, he did _not_ want to be a part of it…

Because he was pretty sure that he'd already passed that point.

With Hercule gone and Videl's stuff put away in his bedroom, the demi-Saiyan then walked the girl across the field and in the direction of the spot Piccolo and Zangya was waiting. On their way there, the visitor began taking in as much of the countryside as she could. Marveling at the hills and the cool breeze that moved gently across the plains, the pig-tailed martial artist in training smiled and stepped closer to her friend.

"This place is really beautiful. You like it out here?"

Gohan grinned, "Yeah. It's quiet, it's open, and I can go wherever I want and not have to worry about stepping onto another person's property. I can also get a lot of training done out here without having to worry about destroying anything important or hurting any people nearby."

"For a superhuman that's capable of wiping out an entire city block with a sneeze, I think that's a fair deal," Videl replied, grinning brightly at the blonde. "I bet your workout sessions are intense."

"Well, not as intense as Vegeta's for sure, but definitely more practical," Gohan informed, shrugging as they continued moving through the grass at a casual speed. While the girl brushed some bangs out of her hair, the young Saiyan continued. "My dad and friends believe that training out in the open is the best way to get stronger. While I'm thinking of mixing it up a little more, the fields and natural environment I think is the best place to begin."

"And that's where you'll want _me_ to start as well?" the girl asked, giving the spiky haired fighter a hopeful look.

"It was where all of us started out, including me. Considering how far I've come along, I believe that's where we should kick things off," Gohan said, earning a grin from his friend and seeing her pump her fist excitedly.

The pair soon arrived at the flat where Piccolo was waiting for them. When they approached him, Videl shirked a little at the sight of the seven foot green man. But of course, being the daughter of the world champ and a tough girl in her own right, she gladly stood beside her friend as he introduced her to the giant of a warrior.

"Hey Piccolo, this is Videl," Gohan greeted, turning to the teen to see her cup her hands in front and bow to the Namekian. "Videl, this is Piccolo, my best friend and my very first martial arts teacher. He's the one that taught me everything I know about fighting, and helped me and my dad train for the androids and Cell." The youngster grinned across at his guardian. "He's an awesome fighter and one of the best I know."

The Namek smirked at the girl standing beside the Saiyan, "'Sup?"

"It's good to meet you, sir," Videl said, her voice a little bit shaky but eventually leveling out when she mustered up the confidence. "Gohan has told me a lot about you."

"Has he now?" Piccolo glanced at his student, who smiled back at him innocently and prompted the warrior to raise an eyebrow. "How much exactly?"

"Enough to know that you're a great man and a wickedly good instructor," the raven haired girl immediately replied.

This tickled a funny heartstring in the Namekian, who grunted back at the youngster's praises, "I'm flattered. Thanks."

While trading pleasantries with the tall green alien, Videl then noticed somebody else present and looked around the caped crusader. Squinting to get a better look, the young fighter then jumped when she recognized the blue-skinned alien girl from the _Intergalactic Tournament_ and the Kana incident sitting on a nearby log.

Gulping, the pig-tailed martial artist raised a hand and waved, "H-Hey?"

Zangya gave an upward nod, "Yeah, hey." And then went back to looking off onto the horizon.

Chuckling at his compatriot's indifference, Gohan placed a hand on Videl's shoulder, "That's Zangya… and yeah. She was one of those aliens from the island incident. Don't worry, she won't bite. She just hangs around our place now standing guard over our laundry."

"O-kay," Videl murmured, tilting her head in the direction of the woman. After several moments of sizing her up and getting a feel for her presence, she eventually shook herself out of her daze and quickly focused back on the reason they were here. Clenching her fists, the pig-tailed fighter smiled across at her friend, "So. When can we get started?"

"Oh-ho? Eager, are we?"

The girl nodded, "You damn right I am."

"Alrighty then. The first thing we're going to do is get you acquainted to our routine. Square one," Gohan said, at the same time tugging on his gi. "That means you're going to need a new uniform."

Videl then pulled at the collar of her shirt. She was wearing a pair of black spandex pants and an oversized top; something she often wore while training at home, "What's wrong with my current uniform?"

"Nothing at all. It's just that you need one for _our_ kind of training," Gohan replied and glanced across at his teacher. "Piccolo?"

Knowing it was his time to shine, the Namekian stepped forward and towered over the girl. While his size and appearance would have intimidated any other person, Videl didn't back down in the slightest. All she did was look up at the man silhouetted against the morning sky and watched him curiously as he raised a hand and held it a foot above her head.

"Hmm, I think… a solid eighty should do it." Before the young girl could question what he meant by that, Piccolo then gave a loud yell and, in a flash of blinding light, the Champ's daughter found herself adorned in a completely new uniform.

It was an orange and blue gi very similar to the one Gohan had worn when he was four, complete with the kanji 'Ma' on the left breast and 'Son' on the back.

When she emerged from the smoke, Videl wanted to check out her new look, but was unable to when her body suddenly lurched downwards and she had to put momentary effort into straightening back up.

"Whoa. What the heck?" It was heavy. That was a surprise. Not just the wrist bands but her shirt and shoes felt like they were being held down by bricks as well.

The material didn't feel dense, but she sure as hell felt the weight of it. Probably because she wasn't expecting it.

"Cool." Gohan, smiling as the girl pulled herself up, then turned to look at his mentor, "You're going to have to teach me how to do that sometime, Piccolo."

The Namekian nodded, "Sure. You and I can have a sit-down about it later. But let's focus on getting your student up to speed." When they looked back at Videl, they saw her quickly adjust for the sudden weight increase in her new uniform with a quick skip of her toes.

"Wow… how did you do that?" the young fighter asked, glancing up at the Namekian curiously.

Piccolo chuckled, "Magic, runt… and not the kind you can find in any retail and convenience store. That stuff was the genuine article."

"He's really good with it too. Trust me," Gohan remarked with a proud look in his eye.

This then raised another important question that the pig-tailed girl had to address.

"What happened to my old clothes?"

Staring blankly at her for a moment, both master and student turned to look at each other. After several moments of silence and contemplation, which put a bit of sweat on the two of them, the Namekian slowly looked back at the newcomer. "Don't know… don't care." His response and the half-Saiyan's deadpanned look had Zangya snort before breaking out into fits of suppressed laughter.

The Hera could be seen holding her sides in the background.

"Okay, skimming over that," Gohan cleared his throat and moved to center stage. "Welcome to your first day of training at Son Gohan's martial arts academy." Seeing his teacher roll his eyes next to him, the demi-Saiyan snickered and continued on with his introduction, "As you've probably already guessed, Piccolo has given you a new set of weighted clothing. That entire ensemble, the wrist bands, boots and blue under shirt, weigh a total of eighty kilograms. Since you're probably only used to using weights sparingly during gym sessions, probably a lot more than that, we're going to get you accustomed to wearing this weight on a daily basis."

"Alright. Sounds fair," Videl murmured, lifting her arms and testing what she felt was twenty kilos on both arms.

"If you do well on your first day, we'll up the ante a bit tomorrow and increase your weight," Gohan said with an excited grin. "This is the training that my father and his best friend Krillin started out on, and it's the stuff that we still use even today." He gestured towards Piccolo and then himself, showing off his wristbands. "We wear these on a regular basis. My outfit has a low weight so I can still fight in it, but Piccolo ups his every time he's training or just moving around."

Immediately curious, Videl stared at her friend, "How much does yours weigh?"

"Oh, my clothes weigh around five hundred kilos altogether."

The girl appeared dumbstruck, "F-F-Five hundred kilos?" And he looked like he was barely even feeling it. Forget the fact he was in a transformed state, either way it still sounded crazy to her.

"Yep," Gohan nodded.

"H-How can you even fight with something like that?" Silly question. He was a superhuman/alien after all. Of course, like all normal people, Videl tended to forget a few important details when wallowing in shock. It was a trait she happened to pick up from her father's side, sadly enough.

"Pretty easily, actually," the half-Saiyan answered, but then paused for a moment. "Oh. Yeah. That reminds me. Hey Piccolo. Could you bump my weight up to two tons on my wrist bands and shoes, and three for my shirt? If we're going to be doing this, I might as well do this the right way." Since he was in Super Saiyan 2 it felt like he was wearing tissue paper and he couldn't even feel the weight. He needed to put on a new grade and get used to it when he eventually reverted back to his base state.

Complying with his student's request, Piccolo pointed at him and fired a golden beam that lit up his wrists, feet and shirt. When the glow inevitably faded, it left Gohan in the exact same style of dress with a weight increase that he barely felt. Testing it in his neutral, ascended Saiyan state, the Z-fighter nodded and turned to face his friend. Seeing that she was still staring at him in shock and disbelief, the youngster grinned and, slipping off an armband, gently set it on the ground and stepped away.

"Give it a try if you like," the transformed boy chirped.

Managing to shake herself out of her daze, Videl cautiously walked up to the band and reached down to pick it up. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the fabric, she was baffled by what she felt, "W-What in the?" Gritting her teeth, the girl attempted to lift at least one part of the material, only to find her fingers unable to pull it up on their own. She even tried with both hands. But after several seconds of futile struggling, the girl stood up, backed away, and panted heavily, "Okay… uhh… well that's… something."

Chuckling, the boy stepped over and casually picked it up. "Still don't believe me?" Tossing it up and down a few times, the young fighter then rolled his hand at chest height and dropped the band to the grass, which it hit with an earsplitting crack and punched a hole a foot deep into the ground. It was a sight that had Videl gawk until Gohan reached in and picked it up again. "See. Two tons." He then casually slipped it on like a watch and placed his hands on his hips. "So… still think you're up to it?"

Remaining silent for but a moment, Videl faced her friend with a serious look, "Will I eventually be able to lift that much?"

Gohan grinned, "If you work hard and keep at this every single day, yes." He then patted himself in the chest, "My dad started this at around the same age as you. So I'm sure that with enough practice and training, we'll be able to make some headway over the next few months… and maybe even the year if you want to-"

"YES!" was the immediate response from Videl's mouth, who didn't even need to wait for the boy to finish. Eyes shining with determination, the girl stepped towards the Saiyan with her fists clenched tightly, "I want to do this, Gohan-kun. I want to become strong… just like you and your friends." She then smiled sincerely in his direction when she spoke her next words, "And, if I do this… I'll be able to hang out with you every day." It was a series of words that had the girl momentarily avert her gaze and become a little red in the face.

Her statement nevertheless brought a flutter to Gohan's heart and a smile to his ever cheerful exterior. Ignoring the snicker from Zangya all the way from her log and the intrigued look from Piccolo, the half-Saiyan rolled his shoulder, cracked his knuckles and gestured over his back, "So… want to get this show on the road?"

"You bet," was Videl's enthusiastic reply.

"Alright then. For starters, we're going to go for a nice, brisk jog through the mountains and across the valley. While we're at it I'll fill you in on what else you're going to be doing for your training and what will be happening over the next couple of weeks," Gohan informed, beginning to skip on the spot before waving the girl into formation. When she fell in step, both of them turned and began running in the direction of the hills, the pair carrying their respective weights and establishing a fair yet fast pace.

Both Piccolo and Zangya watched the youngsters vanish into the distance, bearing the same looks of seriousness as they usually did. Eventually, after a couple minutes of sitting around, the most playful of the pair decided to stand and float up into the air. "You know what… this might actually be fun to watch." The Hera then flew after them.

Grunting, the Namekian followed, not just to keep an eye on her but also curious to see how his student handled the role of instructor for a change.

And so, as the group left on their early morning run through the mists, Videl's apprenticeship and tutelage under Son Gohan began…

XXX

(Some time later)

The run through Mount Paozu Gohan had selected led the pair through various different areas of the region across every kind of terrain you could possibly imagine. This included; mountains, bridges, grasslands, streams, banks, rocky wastelands and forests, with one of the legs through the fields even involving Videl being chased by a hungry T-Rex, much to an observing Zangya's amusement.

When the poor girl had a go at Gohan after losing the damn thing after three miles of screaming and sprinting later, the boy laughed it off as something she was just going to have to get used to. He went on to explain that this routine was essential in improving her endurance, agility, footedness and balance, all of which they were able to cover in this first part of the morning. It was a trek that pushed Videl to her absolute limits.

Following their rigorous twenty mile jog which nearly saw the poor youngster faint from exhaustion, the demi-Saiyan then took her to a nearby village to show her what would eventually become her mid-morning exercises. It was at this very sanctuary in the countryside where a couple of familiar faces were already standing by and waiting for their arrival.

Having stopped on an expanse of rolling hillsides, Videl stood hunched over, pouring sweat and breathing heavily.

"That… was insane…" she groaned. If she wasn't wearing eighty kilos of weight that lap of the region would have been so much easier.

Gohan chuckled as he looked down at the thoroughly exhausted girl, "You did pretty well on your first run. But we're not stopping yet. We've got a lot more to cover before our day is through and since we're starting out late, we're really going to have to fly through this." When he saw the raven haired fighter look at him in disbelief, the spiky haired youngster then turned his attention to the hills, where two people could be seen standing nearby. One of them was an elderly man in a martial arts outfit and with white hair, and the other was a young girl with brown hair tied into two pigtails, and was wearing a yellow shirt and red suspenders. "Now it's time to try your hand at agriculture."

"Uhh… agri-what?" Videl shook her head, wondering if she heard him right.

When the pair lumbered over to the two people waiting nearby, the Super Saiyan 2 gave them a fond greeting. "Hey, Mr. Lao."

"Good morning, Gohan," the white haired elder exclaimed with a smile. "How are you doing today?"

"Great. Just going for a little bit of a run across the countryside with my friend," the demi-Saiyan chirped, before then turning his attention to the little girl standing beside the martial artist. He beamed as soon as his eyes fell upon her, "Hey, Lime. Long time no see."

The adolescent immediately brightened at the sight of the boy and, stepping up to him, immediately took his hand in hers, "Welcome back, Gohan. It's great to see you again." Giggling when she saw the Saiyan grin at her as well, she then looked up at the locks standing atop his head. "You look a little… _different_ today. Did you grow taller?"

"Heh. Sort of," the teen replied, at the same time flicking his bang out of his face. "I'm not sure if this counts though."

"Well, I think your hair looks awesome," Lime replied, ecstatic at seeing her friend again after all these weeks. "You should keep it like that."

"Really? You don't think it makes me look scary?"

"No. Not at all," the youngster shook her head. "You could make it a little bit shorter though, so that it doesn't get in the way."

"Yeah. I'm thinking of getting it cut as well."

Videl, noting how friendly the two youngsters were acting with each other, then turned her attention to the Super Saiyan standing alongside her, "Hey Gohan, who's this?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry Videl" Quickly turning back to his friend and student, the demi-Saiyan gestured her towards the folks in front of them. "This is Mr. Lao and his granddaughter Lime. I met them a couple of months ago while I was doing some grocery shopping for mum before the Cell Games. They're really good people."

Blinking in realization, the raven haired girl smiled at the two neighbors and bowed, "It's very nice to meet you, sir."

Lao beamed at the girl's polite greeting and bowed to her as well, "And it's a pleasure to meet you too, Ms. Satan. Welcome to our village."

While Videl was made friendly small talk with the elderly martial artist, she failed to notice the girl standing next to him give her a funny look, as well as quick glance between her and Gohan. Taking note of the similar uniforms they were wearing and how this newcomer was a friend of the demi-Saiyan's and not a relative, Lime couldn't help but feel a little bit suspicious as to what was going on between them.

Turning back to her teacher, Videl threw him an inquisitive look, "So Gohan, what am I going to be doing while I'm out here?"

Grinning, the young Saiyan then directed her attention toward the fields behind the two villagers, "So far you've only covered the early morning portion of your training. Now it's time to get started on your mid-morning exercise. This will consist of you plowing these fields with your bare hands."

The young martial artist looked at him as if he'd grown a second head, "My… bare hands…?"

Nodding, Gohan lifted his right and showed her his palm, "This will help build the strength and dexterity of your fingers. By using them to toil away at the ground, you'll be able to strengthen them enough to move on to much harder tasks." He then lowered his arm to his side and smiled. "I built up my strength by surviving in the wild using only my hands and feet. This is pretty much the same concept, only confined to a specific routine."

"O-kay," Videl murmured, still feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the enormity of the task that was being asked of her. Swallowing nervously, she turned away from him to gaze across at the valley, "How long… do you want me to do this task for?"

"Oh… maybe an hour or so. We'll see how well you do and if you do well I'll get you to stop early," Gohan chirped before then nodding her towards the hills. "Better get crackin'."

Sucking it up, Videl quickly sprinted out onto the square patch on the hillside and, starting from one end, began to dig. Within moments the spunky young fighter started plowing furrows into the ground up and down section of earth, moving at a labored pace yet still making sure she kept right on task. She knew that the faster she did this, the sooner she would be able to move on to the boy's next assignment.

Hopefully it would be something more along the lines of what she originally came here for.

While Gohan stood by watching her with a pleased look on his face, he sensed Mr. Lao step across to stand alongside him.

"I see you're getting her to go through Master Roshi's classical Turtle School routine."

"Oh. You've heard about Master Roshi's training regimen?" the demi-Saiyan asked curiously.

"I've been around for quite a while, lad… and as an old hand in martial arts you can bet I've heard a lot about some of the big wigs over the years, your father included," Mr. Lao replied, a mischievous smile ever present as he kept his gaze fixed firmly upon the raven haired girl toiling away at the earth.

Upon taking this in, Gohan sprouted a grin, "Well… I guess you can say I'm taking a lot after a person who'd actually been a student of the old Turtle Hermit."

"That's good. There's no better place to start then from the ground up," the elder villager remarked in a pleased tone of voice. "I'm assuming your friend's already developed some strong foundations to build upon, seeing as how she already appears to be using weighted clothing."

"That's right," Gohan said, but then turned away when he felt a tug on his shirt. Glancing to his right, he saw Lime looking up at him with narrowed eyes and a serious scowl on her face.

"Gohan… who is this girl?"

Caught a little off guard by the sudden question from the rather irate looking girl, the Super Saiyan smiled back at her in his usual, pleasant manner, in hopes of trying to lighten her mood, "She's Videl; a friend I met at the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ several weeks ago."

The brown haired girl frowned, "So… she's… just a _friend_ to you?"

"Uh-huh. Yeah. This is… actually the third time we've met up with each other to hang out. She'll be staying over at my place while I train her, so you'll probably be seeing her around a lot." Confusion then suddenly came across his face as he continued to gaze down at his country friend, "Why do you ask?"

Looking away quickly, Lime smiled and slipped her hands behind her back, "No reason. I was just curious." When she sensed relief wash over his expression and his gaze turn to keep watching his friend's progress, the granddaughter of Mr. Lao looked up to gaze at him once again, but this time with a hint of concern. Her eyes cutting between him and the raven haired girl he was observing, for the next hour or so Lime stood back quietly and watched closely as Videl dug away at the field.

Meanwhile, positioned on a fence made of rock and stone nearby, an equally quiet Zangya and Piccolo could be seen sitting and standing there respectively, both with their arms crossed and both with firm, unchanging expressions in play. Needless to say, judging from Videl's progress, they knew she was in for one hell of a first week…

OOO

Just as Gohan had planned, the next several days following Videl's arrival to his home followed the exact same routine the young man walked her through on their very first session together.

After their lap around Mount Paozu, which led them to the outskirts of _Chazke Village_, where Videl took part in the second part of what would become her morning practice, the two of them then settled down for brunch at Mr. Lao's house. Upon eating their fill with the family, allowing Gohan and Lime some time to catch up, the demi-Saiyan then jogged Videl back over to his place to start her on her _ki_ manipulation lessons.

He explained to her all of the mechanics behind the concept of energy, such as how ki was the 'latent energy' and 'fighting power' inside of a person, that it existed inside of every living being and how it could be manipulated outside of the body to perform different techniques, and how it predominantly existed in the center of each person. Because there were limits to what the body could actually do, Gohan said that it was necessary for her to learn how to control and train using her _ki_, and that in order to overcome her barriers she needed to strengthen it continuously.

All the energy Videl had previously lost came back to her the instant Gohan showed her she would be learning how to control her energy and immediately sunk her teeth into his lesson. He decided to start her off by getting her to grab hold of her ki to form a blast. By prompting her to draw it out and control it, even in a small form, he would be able to get her started on exercising it to strengthen it at an early stage.

Remarkably enough, Videl was able to bring out her ki in only two days of practice. This showed Gohan just how much potential she actually had in their art of fighting, as well as how committed she was to getting this skill down.

He informed his apprentice that the time between breakfast and lunch would be spent meditating, learning how to manipulate their energy, or studying. In the words of a great man; a strong warrior would be incapable of fighting at their full potential if they didn't have the proper mindset or knowledge to do so. It was a balance he was hoping to achieve over the next coming months so as to hit Videl from all sides, and being a well practiced academic himself, the demi-Saiyan was confident he could also have his friend's education covered in that period as well.

After lunch at the Son household, Gohan and Videl then had an hour break. For all great martial artists, rest was just as important an activity as their work, something that both young fighters gladly agreed with and for good reason. One, because Videl was exhausted, and two, it'd been words of advice Gohan's father had shared with him during their own hard miles of training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

The pair used this portion of the day to chat and hang out, with the first few sessions of the month being spent sleeping underneath one of the property's oaks alongside a meditating Piccolo and physically present Zangya, who also decided to have a little catnap alongside the group.

It actually impressed Piccolo to see his student managing to sleep while assumed in his Ascended Saiyan state. His current state showed just how deeply immersed the young warrior was getting into his own training, even when he was focusing a lot of his attention on coaching another. He was really nailing the base from all possible angles.

Once break time was over, Gohan got Videl to work on her fighting skills against him.

The first session that they had together had been, in a few words, a real doozy of a scuffle…

XXX

"_Y-You… want me to what?" the raven haired girl asked the spiky haired boy in disbelief._

_Waving the bang out of his face, the young Super Saiyan 2 grinned, "I want you to come at me with everything you've got. If you can hit me, I'll congratulate you with a body shot. If you can avoid my blast, I'll reward you with another. Got it?"_

_The young martial artist stammered nervously. "B-But… what… HOLD ON JUST A SECOND," Videl exclaimed while waving her arms frantically and pointing at him, "I can't fight you, Gohan! You'll destroy me with just a tap of your finger… especially when you're like that!" She added to this by referring to his temporary blonde hairstyling and transformed appearance._

_Gohan chuckled at her flustered expression and adjusted his wristbands, "Don't worry, Videl. I'm suppressing my ki as low as it can possibly go without breaking this state. That means not only will I be able to work hard without hurting you, I'll be getting you to fight at your absolute best as well." He then narrowed his gaze as the girl stared firmly back at him, "Listen; if you want to become as strong as us, then you're going to have to spar with me every single day. By continuing to push yourself beyond what you're capable of and using everything you've learned in all of our spars, you'll become stronger and stronger the further we go." He then gave her a serious look. "Can you do that for me?"_

_At first sweating up a storm and appearing anxious as hell, the human fighter quickly weighed up her chances of fighting against the boy in such an overpowered form. However, knowing she came out here to work harder than ever before, Videl quickly made up her mind on the matter and dropped into a fighting stance. Though she was trembling like a leaf, she was still raring to go._

"_Alright. Let's do it, Gohan," Videl said, a smirk forming on her lips. "I'm putting all of my trust in you."_

"_Yeah," the half-Saiyan replied, a proud smile appearing as he watched his friend settle into full fighting form just several feet away from him. Looking at her right now, adorned in his colors and facing him down the way she was, she reminded him of what he used to be back when he first sparred with Piccolo all those years ago._

_It was a wash of nostalgia that hit the Namekian as well, who was still watching the pair closely from a nearby tree. Even Zangya was paying close attention to them._

'_Now,' Gohan thought, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Spreading his feet till they were shoulder width apart and letting his hands rest firmly at his sides, the boy took a moment to suppress his energy level. Upon pushing it down as low as it could possibly go, he then opened his eyes and fixed his sights upon his student. A bead of sweat formed on his brow, "Remember Videl… don't forget to dodge."_

_With a nod and a growl, Videl let out a hearty battle cry and charged right at her opponent. As soon as she was upon him, she opened up with a flurry of attacks; punches and kicks flying at her target in an effort to bring him down. The second her attacks were loose, Gohan began effortlessly slipping around them, presenting the girl with a moving adversary that she now had to try and catch._

_Yelling out with every swing she threw, the girl attempted to outflank the blonde as she chased him across the grass, the pair circling the clearing at least three times before Gohan decided to counter attack._

_Dodging a roundhouse kick, Gohan then got right up into the girl's face and, lifting his hand, threw a light palm strike into her surprised mug. The blow smacked her square in the forehead and sent the energetic youngster blasting back across the field, where she ended up tumbling along the ground for over a dozen yards. When she ended up falling behind a boulder, with a cloud of dust hanging in her wake, the demi-Saiyan thought he'd knocked her out. A split second later though, Videl came charging right back with a yell, and nothing but dirt on her clothes and a bruise on her forehead._

'_Perfect. This is exactly where I want to be,' Gohan thought, smiling as he began excessively weaving around the girl's attacks once again._

_Unleashing another flurry of combinations, Videl tried to at least clip the blonde in the shoulder. However, when she tried for a right overhand, she suddenly saw the boy vanish into thin air, causing her to stop for but a moment._

_This was her mistake, because the instant she looked over her shoulder, she saw the boy, who'd appeared directly behind her, raise his foot and kick her in the rear, sending her flying and crashing into another boulder. When she hit the grass, the girl groaned and glared back at him._

"_Keep your eye on the enemy," Gohan coached._

_Groaning as she rubbed her side, Videl frowned at the Saiyan, "But you disappeared. I couldn't see you at all."_

"_You're going to have to learn to keep up with this kind of speed. You have to use all of your senses to keep track of your opponent… __**all**__ of them," the young Super Saiyan 2 informed, a smirk appearing on his face. "If you can't see the enemy, then feel them out. And remember; don't make yourself an easy target. You have to keep moving." He then raised his hand and took aim._

"_Ugh. Easier said than-__**WHOA**__!" Videl barreled out of the way, dodging a fast moving energy ball, that slammed into the boulder she'd been leaning against and slapped a perfectly shaped burn mark in its side. Jumping to her feet after her skillful evasion, the girl shot him a look, "HEY! What the hell-?"_

"_No time to talk," Gohan chirped, throwing another blast her way and prompting the girl to move once again. He continued lobbing energy spheres in Videl's direction, bombarding the ground when she leapt and ducked around them, "Don't just dodge, Videl. Get inside and attack!" His instruction getting through to her, the half-Saiyan fired another barrage of weak blasts, prompting the young fighter to move in as fast as she could and leap at the boy with another onslaught of attacks. However, the moment she swung in, the boy disappeared again and reappeared at her side._

_Throwing a slow combo of attacks, he prompted Videl to duck a kick and slip a left jab, only to then tap her with a kick to the stomach that sent her spiraling across the field. When she hit the ground, she took up a crouched position and stared across at her instructor, panting heavily._

"_Good. Keep it up," Gohan encouraged, watching the girl rub at the bruise on her face. After which she went after him once again, unleashing a combination of attacks that had the young Saiyan dodging around her in a blur. All the while the two of them were watched on by a fully invested Zangya and Piccolo, both of whom continued to observe quietly from the sidelines._

XXX

Taking full advantage of her weighted clothing, the demi-Saiyan had Videl fight him using all of the skills she had at her disposal. While pushing himself in his own exercises, he encouraged her to do her very best as well, beating her into the ground with attacks that were strong by normal human standards yet at the same time making extra certain not to seriously injure her.

He made sure to up the ante the further along they progressed.

The two of them continued this session until late afternoon, where Gohan then left a period of time at the end for Videl to work on any one of the skills she saw fit to improve; whether it was building her strength, meditating to improve her senses and state of mind, or sparring to continue polishing her fighting techniques. This period also allowed the demi-Saiyan an opportunity to work on his own training as well, where he spent time honing his techniques and building his strength. It didn't just allow him time to talk with Piccolo and learn how to use his _**magic materialization**_ ability, he also had a perfect chance to practice his control over holding his Super Saiyan 2 form and using the technique Kana had given him before she left.

He began learning how to use the _**Instantaneous Movement**_ technique, something he was eager to get down as soon as possible and add to his move set. It was after the first week and a half of training Videl he started practicing it.

XXX

"_Are you sure about this?" Piccolo asked with a bead of sweat running down his face, the Namekian watching his student limbering up a few yards away._

_Taking a few deep breaths to steady his nerves, Gohan turned back to his old sensei to see Videl also standing by and watching on nervously. After looking between the two worried faces, the demi-Saiyan shared with them a small grin, "No. But I have to start somewhere."_

_Nodding, the green skinned warrior then glanced over the horizon and pointed across the hills. "Remember… pick a target that's close by. Don't try to aim too far or too wide with it, otherwise you might end up somewhere you don't want to be." It was advice he learned from the memories he was able to retrieve of Kami, who knew a technique very similar in this one's design that allowed him to travel to and from the Otherworld._

_Though he'd lost the ability with his other half's inception into his subconscious, the Namekian still experienced phantom flashes of his previous forms that really contributed to his wealth of knowledge._

"_The dimension you will be entering will be passing you at an insane rate, so use your reflexes to slow it down. It'll be like diving into a rushing river traveling hundreds of times faster than light."_

"_Yeah. No problem," the demi-Saiyan replied with a chuckle, which was noticeably nervous._

_Zangya, who was standing behind the boy and also watching on with interest, grinned from ear to ear when she sensed the youngster's uncertainty. "Oh-ho… this is gonna be good."_

"_Okay," Gohan breathed out, skipping on the spot while clapping his hands and rubbing them together. Once he was certain he'd got his blood and energy flowing, he then looked across at the two in front of him and nodded anxiously. "Wish me luck." When he saw his raven haired friend and alien trainer acknowledge his words, he then stopped jumping around enough to flex his fingers uneasily and take a stance. "Oh yeah… and Videl…" The girl perked up, "in case I forget to say this later…__**ow**__."_

_He then vanished in a flash of golden light…_

_A split second after Gohan's form disappeared completely from sight, an explosion of dust occurred about two kilometers in the direction of the mountains, a sight which immediately caught the group's attention. Acting instantly, Piccolo and Zangya took flight in the direction of the blast, with Videl being carried by the former._

_When they eventually landed at the site of the disturbance, they found themselves staring at a five-foot-wide trench that'd been dug through an entire field of grass for over five hundred meters, which ended at a suspiciously human-shaped crater at the base of one of the forest covered mountains. Peering into it, Piccolo, Zangya and Videl stared blankly at the upside-down form of Gohan wedged in its center, his clothing shredded, his body covered in dirt and bruises, and a dizzy look on his bewildered face._

_Groaning, the half-Saiyan that'd clearly plowed the ground with his face, spoke in a weak voice, "Missed it by __**that**__ much."_

_Exactly five seconds later, both Zangya and Videl burst out laughing, with the latter falling onto the floor holding her sides. The Namekian meanwhile, smirked at his beaten up student._

"_You're going to have to work on that, kid."_

XXX

After about a hundred face-plants into mountain sides and random valleys later, including several instances where he'd ended up teleporting himself inside of several walls and to the bottom of random masses of water, Gohan started getting it down… kind of.

Sure, his teleportation skills weren't perfect, but at least he was making progress.

It was just one of those 'no pain, no gain' instances and he knew that if he preserved enough, he would eventually get it right. He sure as hell was going to abuse the hell out of this move when he eventually mastered it, so until then he was just going to keep at it until he finally got to where he needed to go in one piece.

Over the entire month, Videl's routine remained mostly the same, with Gohan changing it up every now and again to cover all of the fundamental aspects of his group's martial arts. For example, while running her lap of the region at four in the morning, he had her hit the mountain slopes with boulders, in which she would spend a segment of that session dragging them up the side over and over again to build up her leg muscles. To push her even further, he even had her swim long distances in the lake with her weighted clothing on, and to coincide with her ki control lessons, he had her sparring with him blindfolded so that she could master _ki reading_ along with her other fighting abilities.

As the days rolled on and Gohan kept pushing his friend, he periodically increased the weight on her clothing, an act that not only allowed him practice with Piccolo's technique, but also increased the difficulty of Videl's training.

It was an incredibly taxing time for the raven haired girl, who at first believed she wasn't making any progress at all. Sure, every once in a while she felt like it was getting easier, but every time she felt like she was making some kind of headway, Gohan would just up the regimen and it would become harder once again.

However, while she sweated away and worked her skills into the ground, the three powerful fighters watching her from the sidelines began to notice and sense remarkable improvements in her abilities.

One thing certainly became clear to all of them; she was an amazing prodigy.

XXX

(A few weeks later - Evening)

Controlling her breathing patterns, Videl extended both hands out and caught the golden sphere of energy that flew at her like an arrow. Managing to hold it above her palms while it pulsed away, the raven haired fighter then took a few seconds to focus before, with a grunt of effort, she launched it back in the direction it'd come, where it was promptly caught by Gohan in the same manner.

For the past couple of hours the two youngsters had been at this; passing a ball of energy between them, catching it using their own energy, and reversing its direction, at the same time keeping it in a state of constant flight and form. Even though it seemed like just some sort of fun game they were playing, it was actually a really effective form of training that not only focused on physical exercise through control, but was also a great way for the two to harmonize their energies and find equilibrium between mind and matter.

While the demi-Saiyan in charge of the session felt that this was an excellent way to work on his own control in the area of ki, as he was currently assumed in a suppressed Super Saiyan 2 state, this activity was mostly for the benefit of his student. Through continuous repetition, Videl had been able to gain a firm grasp of the concept of energy manipulation, and was doing incredibly well in catching, deflecting, blocking and absorbing ki blasts of varying degrees and forms.

This exercise of 'playing tennis' with an energy sphere was one of the many ways she was strengthening said control.

Picking up speed in their passing, the two martial artists continued hurling the attack between them. As this was going on, in the background Piccolo and Zangya were busy doing their own little thing, sitting across from one another with their arms and legs folded and their eyes tightly shut. The two were apparently wrapped up in a session of their own design, a really intense one from the looks on their faces, and were also being watched over by a currently present Mirai Trunks, who was adorned in his vest, trousers and blue jacket.

Looking between the two adults on the grass in front of him and then up towards Gohan and his partner, the lavender haired time-traveler sprouted a smile and nodded his head in approval.

"_With Gohan and everyone here… and with Cell gone, I know things are going to be alright from now on."_ After witnessing the events that'd occurred following the whole Kana incident, he knew for certain that this world was in good hands.

The proof was right in front of him, hard at work with his best friend.

Catching the ball of energy firmly in one hand, Videl concentrated on holding it while it spun above her palm. Gritting her teeth as it hovered in place, the girl then focused her ki around it and began compressing the basketball sized sphere. Within a matter of seconds, the attack popped out of existence and the raven haired girl collapsed onto her backside. Panting heavily from the effort, she wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up, where she saw Gohan stop in front of her with a smile on his face and his hands on his hips.

Grinning at the Super Saiyan 2, Videl raised a hand, "I think… I'm gonna call it a day."

"No problem," Gohan nodded back, before reverting back to his base form with a quick exhale and beaming at his companion, "You worked yourself pretty hard this morning. You've definitely earned a good night's rest." He then offered a hand to her.

Immediately reaching up and taking it, Videl was pulled to her feet. "Thanks, Gohan." After dusting her gi down and adjusting her wristband, the spent youngster then turned her attention to Piccolo and Zangya, both of whom were still sitting across from one another, sweating and trembling from head to toe. Though the sight of the two of them bleeding bullets like that would have initially puzzled the young fighter, because she'd been at this for a month and a bit already, she knew exactly what was going on. "Those two are image training again?"

"Uh-huh. They've been at it since the end of lunch," Gohan replied, placing his hands on his hips. "That's good. It means they're really working hard."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Those two definitely seem like the stubborn types of fighters."

"You can say that again," the demi-Saiyan chuckled. "I've definitely seen Piccolo image training many times before, since he was the one who taught me how to, but I've never seen Zangya train like this." He then paused for a couple of seconds, "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her train, period." To be honest, it was a refreshing change of pace. For the first time ever, he was able to see how a character like the Hera actually worked on her skills in her free time and, judging from the expression on her face, she was really having a ball against Piccolo through their telekinetic link.

"So… they exercise their bodies using only their minds by fighting against a mental image of their opponent inside their heads?" Videl asked while glancing across at her instructor, seeing the boy nod in response. "That's kind of like shadow sparring, isn't it?"

"In a way. The image they fight against is a mental projection created and controlled by their opponent's ki. The resulting mental battle stirs up the circulation in the users' bodies, getting them to exercise their abilities physically as well as mentally, and requires the combatant to continuously project their energy at a controlled rate. That's why at the end of every session we're always exhausted and out of breath, since the fights we get into in the mental world can be just as grueling as a fight in the physical plain," Gohan informed, looking across at the girl to see her nod in understanding.

"And you say you can train like this by yourself or with another person?"

"Yep. It's a really good way to keep your mind sharp and your techniques polished. Though it is effective as an exercise, you still need to actually move around and do stuff to keep your body in full fighting form. You can't focus on one thing without working on the other," Gohan informed, a grin forming on his face.

Videl beamed right back and nudged him in the side, "Hey. When I get good enough and I've mastered control over my ki, I want to have a go at image training against you. No holds barred. Alright?"

"Whatever you say, Videl," the demi-Saiyan chuckled, "But I warn you, it can get pretty intense in there… especially against an opponent who's far more experienced than you."

"I think I can handle it," the adolescent replied with equal enthusiasm, meeting the smile from the spiky haired young warrior.

For the next couple of minutes the two of them stood there, watching the silence permeate between both Piccolo and Zangya. In no time at all, the audience began to question who was actually winning in the one on one fight taking place inside the link the pair had established.

It was obvious the woman was the more powerful of the two and probably an equal in skill. However, she'd been trapped in a star for over ten thousand years, whereas Piccolo had lived a total of two lifetimes with two other Namekians sharing his body, both of which brought an insurmountable level of experience and pain to him. The man knew how to play mind games just as well as anyone in their group and was as stubborn an opponent as they came.

Between the two of them, in a battle confined to a mental plain where there only limits were their strengths of will and life force, it was impossible to tell which of them would come out on top.

The trio got their answer seconds later when Zangya's eyes suddenly snapped open and the young girl gave a gasp of shock, collapsing onto her hands and heaving ragged breaths of air, as if she'd almost been drowned. Her awakening was shortly followed by Piccolo, the Namekian also reacting in a similar manner, only he was able to keep his arms crossed.

Sweating up a storm, the Hera glared up at her sparring partner in frustration, "That was a cheap shot. I didn't know you could use eye beams."

"I haven't had to use them for a while, but it definitely got the job done, don't you agree?" Piccolo asked with a smirk forming on his face. "You have to be patient with these kinds of fights. Unlike you, I don't jump in every time my opponent lets his guard down. If you rush in blindly without a plan of attack, you're likely to fall victim for whatever trap your opponent has laid out for you."

"Your back was turned!"

"And you went for it just like I knew you would," Piccolo replied with a smirk. "That's what happens when you get frustrated."

Snarling, the orange haired girl put her fist into the ground before standing up. There was a slight wobble in her legs the moment she straightened her posture, but she was able to correct it, "You, green man… are an asshole."

Piccolo snorted, finding a retort for the girl's response despite being thoroughly drained as well, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Folding her arms, the orange haired young woman turned her back on him and stormed off, deciding to go sulk over by the house.

Trunks chuckled when he saw her leave, "Man. Never thought I'd see _her_ get worked up."

Getting to his feet as well, the Namekian turned to Gohan to see him beaming up at him, "Training done?"

"For now," the half-Saiyan replied cheerily, which was matched by a bright smile from Videl. "You zapped her when she tried to drop down from above, didn't you?"

"It was inspired," Piccolo replied, giving the boy a sly look. "Something I learned while fighting against you."

Remembering all the times he'd been hit by Piccolo's eye lasers during their training for the Saiyans, Gohan then led the march back towards the house. Around the other side of it, the group found Chi-Chi already laying out a gourmet feast for her family and their guests, Trunks included. Beckoning them over when she saw the group stroll into view, she then began pouring them all a serving of rice, at the same time Gohan, Videl and Piccolo sat around the outdoor dining area.

When the two demi-Saiyans and the human martial artist had their food served to them, on his end of the table Piccolo received a rather pleasant surprise when a glass of ice water was set down in front of him along with a full jug. When he looked up, he saw Chi-Chi give him a smile and a nod, before quickly moving back to deal out the rest of her sides.

The Namekian raised a brow, before glancing down at the glass of refreshing aqua in front of him. _"She's in a surprisingly good mood."_ Not wanting to question the kindness of her gesture, the man accepted the serving gladly.

When Trunks made himself comfortable, he too found a dish of rice and sides sitting in front of him, and beamed across at the woman that'd gone out of her way to cook for all of them. "Thanks so much, Chi-Chi."

"You're welcome, Trunks," the mother replied with a beaming expression as she took up another bowl for herself. "It's always a pleasure to have you and the rest of the family over… well… most of them anyway."

Getting what the woman was saying, the lavender haired Saiyan chuckled, "Yeah. I admit my dad can be a bit overbearing and impatient sometimes, but I know he's still a great guy deep down." It was a remark that had Piccolo pause and stare for a few seconds. "I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world."

"Well… that's good," Chi-Chi replied with a nod. "I'm glad to see that you care about him a lot. If I'm being completely honest, I think Vegeta really cares about you as well. He's just too proud and stuck up to admit it."

Smiling at the woman for her kind words, Trunks collected up his chopsticks and prepared to dig in. When all of the boys and girls around the table clapped their hands together and said their thanks to the spirits, they then dug in all at once. The Son mother, Videl and their lavender haired companion ate at a languid pace, pulling up their bowls and putting whatever they wanted onto the dishes in front of them. Their pace was matched by the one set by Piccolo, who quietly drank his water through his straw, which he slowly consumed and savored every drop.

Of course, in stark contrast to the speed the majority of the troop had set, there was one exception to the above who'd decided to make this meal his next conquest.

Just like his father, Gohan speedily fished for several more sides from the center of the table and popped them into his bowl. Upon which he then began inhaling the food at his usual rate of speed shoveling, a sight that had Videl stare and giggle when the boy pulled away with his lips covered in rice.

"You Saiyans really love your food, huh?" the raven haired martial artist asked, drawing the boy's gaze over.

"Yeah. We sure do. But I think it's because of mum's cooking that me and dad eat so much more than we're supposed to," Gohan replied, at the same time sparing his mum a thousand megawatt smile. "We've gone out to tons of restaurants over the years, but out of every single one of them there hasn't been a single chef that's been able to match mum's cooking skills. She's the best in the world."

Chi-Chi's expression warmed at her son's compliments, "Why thank you, Gohan."

Videl leaned over to smile at the home owner as well, "Yeah. Your food is really amazing, Chi-Chi. Thank you so much."

The woman's eyes twinkled, "You're welcome too, Videl." She then gave an inward squeal at the prospect of grandchildren, a twitch in her expression that didn't go amiss by the ever observant Piccolo.

As the group continued to feast and Gohan had gone through two more servings, the half-Saiyan then had his attention pulled over to the house. It was there he saw Zangya standing against the wall with her arms folded and a neutral gaze set upon the group.

After looking at her and back towards the table a couple of times, the demi-Saiyan smiled in her direction and shuffled over, "Hey, Zangya. Why don't you come join us?"

His call catching her by surprise, the previously aggravated blue-skinned fighter blinked, "Huh? You want me to sit with you guys?" They had a pretty full table already. However, looking across at Gohan, she saw the youngster make a space beside him and gesture to it gleefully.

"Yeah. Mum made us plenty of food. Why don't you come and have some with us," the young warrior continued, his exclamations drawing gazes from Piccolo and Trunks, before they too turned to the woman standing across the way.

Appearing hesitant at first, Zangya looked away, "I… don't know if I should." She was aware of their history. After everything she'd done, she wasn't so sure if she would be welcomed or not.

Gohan beamed warmly at her, "I can't eat knowing that you're standing over there all by yourself while the rest of us are here. Even Piccolo is sitting with us and having a drink." He gestured to the Namekian, who merely gave a grunt and turned back to his water. "If _he_ can sit with us without being bothered, then I'm sure you can eat with us too."

Giving the boy a long stare of surprise, the Hera regarded his proposition with a few more moments of thought. Once a full minute ticked by and the woman passed the happily smiling child a couple more tentative glances, Zangya eventually conceded and slowly made her way over. Giving a bow to the woman of the house who gave one in return, the orange haired fighter sat down next to Gohan.

She then had a bowl of rice held out in front of her and looked across at the young Saiyan to see him still smiling.

"Here. You must be pretty hungry," the boy spoke.

Nodding gratefully, Zangya took the bowl and chopsticks. Picking at a slice of pork, she then brought it to her lips and nibbled on it. Giving a few testing bites of the rest, a small smile quickly formed on her face, "Mm… it's delicious." She glanced across at the group, whom she saw was eyeing her intently. Looking from one face to the next, the blue-skinned woman then became slightly nerve rattled and looked away, frowning stubbornly. "Th-Thanks." She then started to eat at a livelier pace and remained quiet for the rest of the evening.

Smiling when he saw the woman get more comfortable, Gohan switched to his own meal and continued to devour it, at the same time sharing small talk with both Videl and Trunks.

As tea time rolled on, things seemed to file out nicely for the group outside the Son household. Against the backdrop of Mount Paozu and the sun setting gently over the horizon, the serene scene around the table was nothing short of perfect. Eventually, once most of the food had been put away and Gohan and Zangya were in the process of finishing off their last servings, the lavender haired Saiyan accompanying them looked down at his empty plate anxiously. After which he then addressed the company with the announcement he'd shared with the other members of their party.

"I'll be leaving in two days," Mirai said, drawing everyone's attention over to him in an instant. "Now that I know everything is going to be okay, I believe that my work here is done."

"You're going back to your own time?" Gohan asked.

"Yep." A sad smile pulled across the half-Saiyan's lips, "Since this'll probably be the last time we'll ever get to see each other again, I'm visiting everyone from here to Kame House and letting them know that I'll be going this Saturday. My mum's probably worried sick about me back home, so I don't want to keep her waiting anymore than I already have."

Processing his words quickly, Chi-Chi nodded in understanding, "Since you two are the only ones left, I'm not surprised." The raven haired woman straightened up in her seat and, reaching over, patted the young man on the shoulder. "Be sure to take good care of her, okay?"

"I will. And I'll be sure to visit the rest of you when I get back as well," the young man replied, giving the Son mother a warm smile, "Thank you, Chi-Chi."

"We'll be there to see you off on the day, kid," Piccolo also spoke up from his end of the table, earning a grateful nod from the time traveling hero. "Count on it."

"I appreciate that. Thanks."

While the group beamed at the lavender haired warrior, who they feel had become just as much a part of their family as all the other friends they'd made, Gohan then realized a very important fact. Grinning at the demi-Saiyan who was his student and friend in the future, the energetic, orange-wearing fighter then stood out of his seat and threw the man a competitive glare.

"Hey Trunks." When everyone turned to the young warrior, they saw him back away from the table and instantly transform into a Super Saiyan. The explosion of golden energy around him kicked up a wind that ruffled everyone's hair and clothing, and brought a round of surprised looks to the people sitting at the table. "You and I never had a chance to fight during the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_. How about you and I have one for the road… just to wish you luck and give you something to remember us by?"

The glimmer in Gohan's eyes gave Trunks all the confidence he needed to make a quick decision.

Smirking, the lavender haired Saiyan nodded back at his counterpart, "Sure. Why not?" It would be awesome to spar with his old master one last time, even though the ages had been reversed. While the kid was unquestionably stronger than him, even as a first level Super Saiyan, Trunks was positive he would be able to get a lot out of this.

Pleased at the man's answer, Gohan looked down at Videl and smiled. "Want to see how a pair of Super Saiyans fight?"

The raven haired girl nodded eagerly, "Yeah."

Though she didn't want to admit it, even Zangya was interested to see how the two half-Saiyan males fought. Sitting at the table with her bowl of rice in hand, the orange haired woman focused all her attention on them and watched as they prepped themselves for battle.

Chi-Chi gave her eldest boy a proud look, "Be careful out there, son." She then winked in is direction. "Don't hurt your friend _too_ badly."

Grinning, the transformed youngster then saw Trunks leap out of his chair and rush out into the fields surrounding their home, where he immediately jumped to his Super Saiyan 2nd Grade level and sprang into the air. With Gohan joining him in the sky, the two fighters then secured a position several stories above the ground safely out of reach of the spectators. Once there, the warriors faced each other down in their glowing forms and began to circle, the sound of their auras echoing across the wide open prairies.

"Let's make this one count," Gohan said, his teal eyes shimmering with excitement.

Trunks grinned back at the boy with equal enthusiasm, "Don't worry. I won't disappoint you."

Then, with Piccolo, Videl, Zangya and Chi-Chi watching from the table below, the pair rocketed towards one another and began clashing in an explosive display of speed, skill, and strength.

The sound of thunderclaps ringing out across the plains, the audience looked on with warm expressions in play as the two companions from different eras traded blows for what would be their first and last time.

From one point of view, the spar was just a rival match between two incredibly powerful warriors.

From another… it was a fond farewell between two friends.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Woot. I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Here, we see Videl begin her training under Gohan, starting off with the oh-so-famous Turtle School routine. It'll take her a while to get up to the same level the other human Z-fighters are at, but she has plenty of time to get this right.

About seven years to be exact.

Okay, so I won't be having the montage just yet. I've managed to fit one more arc into the series that I'm sure you're all going to enjoy. Right now we've started the training period.

During the seven year gap (which is now), we have the _**Junior Division** **Arc**_ coming up next. I don't have to tell you what's involved with this arc. After this we have the _**Zeru Arc**_, which is close to the end of the seven year gap, then just before the 'Gohan Goes to Highschool' period we have the _**God of Storms Arc**_, where the Z-fighters encounter their first God opponent who's from the same realm as Beerus (you're going to like how they fight this one). After this we have Gohan's high school period, followed by the _**Saiyan Invasion Arc**_, _**Varax Arc, Dabura Arc, Kidnapper Arc,**_ and then finally the _**Doomsday Arc.**_

**(SPOILER ALERT**, I should probably put this in here, but this is for you loyal readers out there… your favorite character dies.)

I won't tell you who exactly, but have fun trying to figure it out.

Ciao. Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter.

Oh, and if you all want to see a cover picture for my story, I commissioned AlphaDelta1001 to do a picture for me and provided a link to it in my profile. Let me know what you think.

I also have a one-shot spin-off of this story already posted in my profile Long Night, so if anyone wants some Gohan/Zangya divergence, enjoy. :)


	8. Training Days

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Training Days_

(Eight Months Later)

The night before Mirai Trunks left for the future saw one of the biggest parties the Z-fighters had ever thrown for one of their own. Everyone had been invited to the evening's festivities; Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Turtle, Yajirobe, shoot even Android 18#, Videl, Hercule and Zangya. All the members of the Z-gang turned up to the get-together with their friends and families, which saw every single one of them mingling throughout the entire event, particularly with Mirai whom everyone had a chance to spend some time with and give him all their best.

The very next day, once everyone had recovered from their respective hangovers, dressed in their best, the groups gathered together for one last photo. The lavender haired Saiyan made sure to share a final round of handshakes and 'goodbyes' with all the Z-fighters he'd come to know in his stay in the past, and even managed to share a respectful nod with his father. After all was said and done, the demi-Saiyan hopped into his signature yellow craft and took off into the future.

It was a sad time for all of them. Having just recently said goodbye to a loved one almost immediately following the events of the Cell Games, the group also had to say goodbye to another member of their gang who, in a span of only a couple of months, had become just as much a part of their family as Goku before him. However, knowing with certainty and pride that the lavender haired warrior was going to be alright, everyone slowly bucked it up, pulled themselves together, and returned to their lives with just as much hope and confidence for the future as before.

Master Roshi, Turtle, Oolong and Krillin went back to their island to resume their everyday routines, with Android 18# following not too far behind, and Tien and Chiaotzu flew back to the northern mountains to continue their training. The Briefs got all of their personal affairs in order; Bulma juggling her time between looking after her infant son and taking care of work at the company, and Vegeta hitting his training regime even harder than ever (if that was even possible).

From Yamcha to Dende, Everyone had places to go and things to do, and this went especially double for Gohan and his family up in Mount Paozu.

On top of his ongoing lessons with Videl, who'd managed to negotiate with her father to stay at his home for another few months, the young Saiyan also balanced time between his own training and career work. And this wasn't just limited to his studies either.

Just as he promised his mother, Gohan went out and got work at a construction company. Much like his father and Krillin in their childhood years under Master Roshi's tutelage, the young warrior was able to use his enormous strength and technical brilliance to acquire a fantastic position at the _BuildingH_ _Corp_. in Satan City; one of the largest and most well-known conglomerates in the world. Taking full advantage of his efficacy and his ability to deliver outstanding results, the demi-Saiyan was able to convince the organization to pay him five to ten times the amount that regular workers would normally receive from their hours. It was the least they could do anyway, because not only could Gohan effortlessly function as a full shift of crew members all by his lonesome, he could also micromanage and organize all of the technical knowhow involved with the jobs with both hands tied behind his back.

To put it into perspective, the young Saiyan quickly became the most valuable commodity the company could have ever hoped to enlist into their ranks. Not only was Gohan the best crew member to have on their larger than life projects, including skyscraper and office building constructions, but he was also able to take care of their smaller projects, with this mostly involving the construction of small houses, roads and community centers.

With only a handful of assignments, the young Saiyan was able to make enough money for his entire family to live on comfortably, as well as save up plenty for whatever rainy days they were likely to come across.

Able to organize his shifts that required him to work only a few times a week due to his speed and efficiency, Gohan had plenty of free time left in his schedule to hang out at home with his family, spend time with Videl and his friends, and train his ass off in his rest periods.

As far as he was concerned, peacetime was working extremely well for him.

Over the next several months the schedule in his life rarely changed. Every morning he would get up super early for some hard training and rigorous sparring, either with Piccolo or a clone of his own creation, before then settling down for some breakfast. Heck, he even managed to convince Zangya to partake in some of his sessions, much to the woman's exhaustion. But when the Hera realized exactly how far the young Saiyan was planning to push himself, not wanting to be outdone, she too soon felt the need to exercise her strengths.

The woman reasoned that if she worked hard enough, perhaps she would be able to learn a few things more about the kid she was hanging out with.

In the days Videl spent over at his place, Gohan would oversee her training in the early morning hours after his exercises and up the stakes of every lesson for her, keeping her moving and keeping her sweating. Along with the customary lunch, study and relaxation breaks, he would then continue training with her until the end of their shift, in which he would proceed with his own personal regimen.

So far he was coming along splendidly. The balance of work, play and rest in his life allowed him to build up his strength and refine his skills as a fighter much faster than through continuous, backbreaking drills from dusk till dawn. Though he did often take advantage of his Saiyan genetics to boost up his power after every recovery, he learned through his father and his own experiences that doing it too often would be more detrimental to his development and growth in the long run than beneficial. Vegeta continued working his butt into the ground day in and day out, but because of Gohan's more polished routine he was able to stay ahead of the prince easily, while at the same time not put his body under too much unwanted stress.

You shouldn't ignore the fundamentals. His father reminded him of that more than once during their time training together.

On another note, aside from now being able to completely control his Super Saiyan 2 form to the point he could actually hold a glass cup without shattering it, Videl's training was coming along marvelously as well.

In the time she'd stayed over at his place, the girl had made some wicked progress. Just like how Gohan had been able to get strong under Piccolo's watch, under his guidance the teen martial artist was growing stronger almost as fast as he had. Continuously increasing her weighted clothing, changing up her routine and sparring with her repetitively has really increased her strength and fighting skills. Furthermore, not only has her ability to form ki blasts improved immensely that she could now use higher tonnage attacks in succession and allow her to learn more powerful moves, she'd also learned how to fly and sense energy.

After only eight full months of work, Videl was now as strong as Krillin was when Nappa and Vegeta first arrived on earth.

He was pleased with his friend's development. If only he could say the same thing about his _**Instantaneous Movement**_ training. Despite being able to use it without crashing into mountains anymore (a majority of the time), he always ended up missing his mark on every pass. That just showed he still needed a whole lot more work with it.

No wonder it took his father a year to master this technique. It was hard.

Of course, not being one to give up without a fight, the young Super Saiyan kept at it every day, setting himself a new challenge every session. He needed to get the thing right some time and, damn it, he was going to get this bloody thing down even if it was the last thing he did!

On this particular day, Gohan had taken to a different kind of training exercise that pushed his endurance and adaptability to a whole other level. Finding himself floating in the cold vacuum of space with the planet earth floating like a massive blue and white globe far behind him, the hybrid warrior had his eyes tightly shut and his fists firmly clenched. Sweat floating off of him as his body endured the harshest environment imaginable, second only to the surface of the sun itself, the boy was not only holding a perfect orbital position, he was also assumed in his Super Saiyan state and what appeared to be a facade of complete and utter concentration.

If he hadn't already been up there for a couple hours already you would think he'd just started this odd routine. But since his mum had recently been admitted to the hospital and the nurses had kicked him out for causing such a ruckus in the corridors, it was expected that the boy would go out to find something else to work off the stress. Right now he was aiming to set a new record for how long he could actually stay up here without passing out and would continue to do so until he'd fully adapted to his new surroundings.

After several minutes of floating there in meditation, the blonde's eyes suddenly flew open and he threw both his hands forward. His golden aura exploding around him as he jumped straight to Super Saiyan 2, the boy let out a yell of effort and unleashed a blast that shot from his hands and rocketed towards the blanket of stars on the horizon. His attack possessed enormous speed, spread and force, easily flying beyond the Solar System and into the expanse of nothingness before him.

When he eventually hit his target, a rogue, moon-sized asteroid floating millions of kilometers out of sight, the head of his attack struck it, disintegrated it, and detonated with the force of sixty suns going off at once. The explosion took the form of a blinding flash of golden light, which filled the horizon and dwarfed the Solar System, and eventually settled moments later.

Blue electricity shooting off of his ethereal glow, Gohan focused his gaze on another target to his three-o-clock. Upon which he cranked his right hand back and chucked it forward. _**"FLASH MADAN!"**_

Unleashing his new move, a powerful blast of blue energy surrounded by golden sparks of electricity erupted from his palm like a jet and shot across the skies in the form of a massive comet. Effortlessly leaving the Solar System, the streak of energy soon reached a cluster of asteroids hanging far out of sight. The attack engulfed them, turning them into space dust and carried on, before exploding safely away from any nearby planets in a flash of brilliant light.

Lowering his hand, the Super Saiyan 2 frowned and fell out of his second level state, reverting to his first form and allowing his thoughts to carry on.

"_This is almost like training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber,"_ Gohan thought with a small smile on his face.

Almost.

At least out here he didn't have to worry about hurting anybody and could just fire random blasts into the emptiness of space.

His aura dying off but still assumed in his transformed state, the youngster then glanced over his shoulder when he sensed a familiar presence appear behind him. He'd been so caught up in his own little world of meditation and thought that he didn't even notice he had company.

"Glad to see you're taking your training seriously, brat. I'm impressed," the rough, gravelly voice of Vegeta spoke as he floated a few yards behind the boy. Adorned in a black vest, grey sports pants and training shoes, the last, full-blooded Saiyan left alive stared his fellow compatriot down with an air of confidence and satisfaction. "That's good. A true Saiyan warrior should take every opportunity they have to improve their skills, no matter how small or grueling the task may be."

Gohan smiled back at his father's number one rival, "Heh. Thanks, Vegeta. That means a lot coming from you."

The man grunted, "Consider it a 'best wishes' gift in honor of the occasion. I suggest you savor this moment, runt, since I'm not very charitable when it comes to complimenting people who are beneath me in stature."

This had the youngster chuckle, "I'll be sure to remember that."

As he drifted over to float alongside the kid, Vegeta allowed a sense of amusement to tug across his lips, "So you decided to come up here and shoot a few rocks out of the sky to work off some stress?"

"That and more. I'm… actually learning how to fight in this kind of field; a place without gravity or air," the demi-Saiyan replied while looking ahead of him again. "You know… there have been many times in the past I've wondered how far we could actually push our bodies, not just against really strong opponents, but in places we wouldn't normally end up fighting. When Piccolo, Krillin and I fought Dr. Wheelo in the planet's thermosphere many years ago, I came up with this theory that people with strong, durable bodies and effective control over their ki could actually fight in an environment that would otherwise be impossible for ordinary people to breathe in. It was only after my fight with Kana that my suspicions were confirmed."

Vegeta nodded, knowing exactly where Gohan was going with this, "Saiyans have naturally adaptable bodies and can survive in even the harshest of conditions; this includes the vacuum of space. While there are some who can only travel about as far as the stratosphere of a planet, there are others like you and me that can push that boundary. As long as we're shrouded by our energy, we can travel through a vacuum for as long as is needed. Your father and the others have just been grounded on this planet for so long that they've never taken the time to get used to this kind of setting."

Like his father. Years ago, had he not been able to find a ship off of Namek, prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space on top of the planet's explosion would've surely killed him.

However, through training and heavy doses of entry to this sort of setting had allowed them to circumvent the need for breathable air and an atmosphere, and build up resilience to the stifling void of the cosmos. The natural bio-field that shrouded their bodies allowed them to create their own personal form of circular breathing, in which their ki replenished and continuously enriched the oxygen necessary for them to survive.

"Exactly," Gohan said with a determined smile and a clenched fist. "When I took on Kana in the thermosphere and came back down to earth, I felt really lightheaded and dizzy… a drawback from fighting at such a distance from the earth's atmosphere. That means I need to continue practicing in places like this till I can fight in them without needing to concentrate." He then allowed his Super Saiyan form to fade and turned to face the Saiyan prince, man to man.

Getting a good look at the kid in the zero-gravity milieu, Vegeta could see just how much he was growing and feel how strong he was becoming. Giving a frustrated click of the tongue, the prince could still pick up the noticeable gap between him and the youngster's power. Despite having pushed himself to the brink of snapping in two in Capsule Corp's gravity room, this kid was still miles ahead of him and the fact that he was progressing as equally fast as he was ticked him off to an insane degree.

However, despite his own inner turmoil, Vegeta also felt a singe of pride, knowing that a person with Saiyan lineage had been able to become so strong. Of course, it still annoyed the full-blooded hothead to no end that it'd been someone else, a half-breed no less, and not him.

The influx of feelings were complicated, but at the same time perfectly within reason.

"You have the eyes of a dead fish," Vegeta remarked, pointing out the bags under Gohan's eyes.

Taking notice of his appearance too, since he could practically feel the fatigue, the demi-Saiyan chuckled and shrugged, "Oh? Do I look that rich in omega-3s?"

"I'm being serious, runt," the prince replied, at the same time frowning at the adolescent fighter. "You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"

"Mm. I guess. But only for the past several days," Gohan replied, breathing out a heavy sigh and placing his hands on his hips. "Mum hasn't been able to move around a lot and has been asking me to do some extra stuff for her around the house. I guess… having a little passenger on board has really taken it out of her."

It had been a really trying and turbulent period for Chi-Chi. The Son mother had placed a lot of the responsibilities she normally would have done herself on her son, and on top of his work and training, that was just mentally exhausting for him.

Going out, training, or just meditating in general has really helped the demi-Saiyan in keeping it all together. It was what he'd been doing moments before deciding to have some target practice with some rocks drifting through the void.

Speaking of which.

"Hey. Wanna see who can shoot down the most asteroids? First one to reach thirty wins?" Gohan asked, grinning across at the prince in a way that would be impossible for the man to resist the challenge.

Considering the boy's teasing smile and suggestion for competition, Vegeta then, with great hesitation, shook his head and looked back at him seriously, "Maybe next time, kid. Right now, the blue haired woman has sent me up here to fetch you for something that's supposedly more important than that."

At first appearing confused, a light then returned to the demi-Saiyan's eyes that reflected a patent sense of surprise, "Y-You mean?"

Vegeta nodded and turned side on, gesturing him towards the planet.

Without needing to be told twice, the young Super Saiyan powered up and shot towards the globe suspended in the distance, his form disappearing in a streak of golden light. The prince lingered back for several minutes longer, watching the boy vanish before slowly deciding to follow after him at his own pace.

Descending through the atmosphere and easily cooling off upon reentry, Gohan set a course straight for Satan City hospital. In a matter of moments he was on the institute's roof, powered down, and sprinting through the corridors, ducking and dodging patients and nurses along the way. Honing in on his mother's ki signature, he soon found himself outside her room with Bulma waiting expectantly for him at the entrance.

Gohan gulped when he saw the blue haired scientist beaming at him, "I-Is she…?"

The woman nodded affirmatively, "She's okay, Gohan. Just tired. The doctor said you can go in and see her now if you like." She was lucky she made room for the boy when she did because the second she stepped aside, the demi-Saiyan barreled right past her.

Arriving at his mother's bed, Gohan stood by the railings looking across at the exhausted, raven haired woman lying underneath the sheet. Not only taking note of the tired rings under her eyes and her drained expression, the boy also noticed the bundle she was now cradling in her arms. Biting his teeth together nervously, the young Saiyan perked up when he saw her quietly glance his way.

"Mum?"

Chi-Chi, giving her boy a warm smile, moved over slightly and adjusted her position on the bed. When Gohan finally got a good look at the towel she was cradling, he saw that she was holding a newborn baby, a sight that had his eyes widen in amazement.

"Say hello to your little brother," the mother said weakly.

Awed at the sight of the infant in her arms, Gohan leaned over to have a better look. When he reached out to brush some of the material out of the way, he suddenly felt his finger grabbed by a tiny hand and saw the newborn child beaming brightly at him. The sight of her surprised older son had Chi-Chi shake with pained giggles.

"I think someone else wants to say hello too."

Seeing the baby coo and wiggle about in the bundle in his mother's arms, the half-Saiyan smiled and waved at him. "H-Hey there." Hearing the baby giggle at his greeting, the half-Saiyan then reached over and moved some of the towel out of the way, where he then saw the irrefutable proof of the boy's Saiyan lineage curled up beside him. Paying the furry tail little mind, the eldest son smiled even wider. "I'm Gohan, your big brother." He then looked over at his mother, whom he could see was still looked absolutely drained. "Have you thought of a name for him?"

Chi-Chi shook her head, "No… not yet. I was hoping maybe … you would have an idea."

Pondering on it for several moments, the spiky haired Saiyan gave his baby brother a considerate look and tugged at the bundle of cloth, earning another playful laugh from him, "I was thinking maybe… Goten."

"Goten?"

"Yeah, since it's just like my name and dad's name," Gohan continued, chuckling when he saw the youngster squirm about once again. "Heh… and I think it suits him too. With those eyes and that nose, he looks so much like him." He then nervously glanced up at his mother once more. "W-What do you think?"

Chi-Chi, taking her eldest son's words into consideration, gave him an approving stare and nodded, before then holding her baby son closer to her. "It's a lovely name. Goten…" A happy gleam appeared across her face as she gently cuddled her newborn, "My little Goten."

Looking between his mother and baby brother, and seeing the latter yawn as he prepared to drift off into sleep, Gohan's eyes started to shimmer as he regarded the newest member of the family for the longest time. Then, while watching his mother tenderly caress her new son, and feeling the eyes of the medical staff, Bulma, and a newly arrived Vegeta resting on him, the Saiyan's mind began to form words he knew he had every intention of living up to.

"_I'll look after you, Goten. I promise."_

Somewhere up above them, a certain spiky haired father could be seen lying flat out on the grass of the Grand Kai's planet, resting from a long day of rigorous training, and smiling down at his family.

XXX

(A Week Later)

For the first time in eleven years, the Son household has been blessed with the presence of new life. Lying in a bamboo cradle in the middle of the living room, a tiny blanket covering him and his head resting on a pillow, the newest member of the family, Goten, could be seen sleeping peacefully under the watchful gazes of his guardians.

Crowding the cradle on all sides, Gohan, Chi-Chi, the Ox King and Videl were looking down at the little tyke quietly breathing away with smiles of adulation and affection.

Obviously there visiting the Son family again, the raven haired girl from Satan City gave a quiet exclamation of delight and tilted her head at the infant, "He's so cute."

The Ox King chuckled, "Yeah. He looks just about as small as Gohan was when he was born… and just as healthy."

Videl nodded her head in agreement, "That's good. It means he's going to grow up to be as big and strong as his older brother."

"I hope so," Gohan chirped, sitting at the end of the cradle alongside his friend, who was also kneeling beside him. "He's half Saiyan as well, just like me." Looking the quietly sleeping youngster over, the boy in the long-sleeved, oriental white top grinned and looked over at his grandfather. "Hey. His hair looks just like dads."

The towering man blinked as he fixed his attention on the baby's head and, after adjusting his glasses, gave a boisterous laugh. "Well now, isn't that something."

"He's the spitting image of Goku when he was young," Chi-Chi murmured, a loving smile forming on her face at the same time. A sigh escaping her lips, the woman reached down and gently ran her fingers over the boy's head. "I only wish his father could be here to see him. I'm sure he would be happy to meet the newest addition to our family."

"Yeah," Gohan murmured.

After a moment of gazing at her newborn, the recently acquitted patient from the hospital glanced across at her son and his student. Heart churning at the sight of the pair of teens and seeing how well they fitted together, Chi-Chi allowed a warm smile to form as she fixed her gaze onto their home's guest. "By the way Videl, thank you so much for all the presents you and your father bought for us. I'm sure that Goten will love them."

The raven haired girl grinned bashfully and rubbed her head in response, "That's alright, Chi-Chi. It's the least we could do." She then absently noted the massive stack of wrapped up boxes sitting against the wall of the lounge, all of which were topped with flowers and a basket of fruit. They certainly seemed like the typical gifts one would buy for a friend or family member who was having a child, and there were a lot of them too. "My dad went all out buying all of those toys, food and clothing for you guys. Perhaps it's his way of apologizing for all of the trouble he's caused your family over the year."

"Trouble? What trouble?" Chi-Chi asked the girl in surprise.

"You know… stealing Gohan's thunder from the Cell and Bojack incidents and everything," Videl explained, earning a chuckle from the Ox King and a grin from the demi-Saiyan as well.

"Does he still think we're angry about that?" the young Z-fighter asked in amusement.

"We already told him he didn't have to worry about taking the credit," Chi-Chi replied, also staring across at the girl in an amused yet friendly manner. "Honestly. If that man keeps stressing about every little thing in life, he's going to give himself a really bad aneurism one of these days." Her expression brightened as she passed on to the anxious looking Videl her honest response. "We're very grateful for the presents your father sent us, but you can tell him to take it easy from now on. We don't plan on threatening him or anything of the sort. Our family is not like that."

Videl nodded in understanding, "I'll be sure to remind him. Thanks, Chi-Chi."

While the group continued to fawn over the baby sleeping in the crib, there was one amongst their troop that had decided to keep her distance and give the newborn a wide berth. Throughout the entire procession, Zangya had taken to standing over by the wall with her arms folded and a firm look set upon the entourage.

Having been invited into the home earlier that day when Videl arrived to see the newest member of the family, the blue-skinned warrior had had plenty of time to herself to observe the habits of the group as well as take in all of the things being shared between them.

"_Another one, huh? That's nice."_

Needless to say, she didn't really want to approach not knowing whether she would be welcomed or not. For the sake of the child and the family's wellbeing, Zangya wisely decided to stay where she was until she felt the need to be excused from the room.

The commotion in the home eventually roused little Goten from his sleep and when his eyes fluttered open, he found himself staring up at four people beaming down at him. After looking around at the cheerful strangers in what was easily recognized as an adorable expression of surprise, the mother of the curious child then giggled, reached down and picked him up.

"I'm sorry, Goten, sweetie. Did we wake you?" Chi-Chi asked, standing up with her son in her arms. When everyone rose up as well, she began rocking the child back and forth, "Don't worry. Mummy's got you."

Smiling and giggling at the woman holding him, the boy then looked around at the other strangers surrounding him. It was only when his eyes fell upon Gohan that the youngster stopped and stared, an action that had the elder demi-Saiyan balk. Upon which the older brother beamed and waved back at his infant sibling.

Staring at the teen with the spiky black hair, Goten then suddenly squirmed in his mother's arms and started reach out towards the boy. Making incomprehensible noises but obviously directing his efforts and flailing towards Gohan, a surprised Chi-Chi silently obliged with her newborn son's needs and walked over to the man of the house.

"I think he wants you to hold him, Gohan." The mother willingly held the baby out and ceremoniously dipped him into the older hybrid's arms. It was an offering the demi warrior couldn't possibly refuse, and did so while stammering nervously. "Careful. Mind his head."

Just as his parent asked, Gohan was careful in holding the infant. Looking down at him, he saw the child gaze up at him admiringly, a smile on his face and eyes shimmering with joy. Staring back at him, a cheerful look then came upon Gohan's own visage and he began to cradle the child tenderly. "Hey, little guy. It's your big brother; the strongest kid in the universe. Pretty cool, huh?" Hearing Goten giggle drew a laugh from the demi-Saiyan as well, while all the others around the pair watched on with pride and joy.

However, as the family observed Gohan shower affection over his baby brother, a thought soon came to the demi-Saiyan's head that had him pause for a brief moment. His smile faltering slightly, the boy then looked around his living room and at all his family members, before then fixing his gaze upon the fireplace. There, on the shelf above, he saw the photo containing the picture of his father holding him when he was a child alongside his mother.

Contemplating the frame and image for a few moments in silence, the boy then smiled and nodded affirmatively, before glancing back down at his brother.

XXX

(A Few Days Later)

Standing on the balcony of what was known by all the Z-fighters as Kami's Lookout, Gohan put on a wide smile of amusement as he watched Videl touch down on the tiled surface in front of him and keel over in shock. Panting heavily with sweat dripping down her face, the girl in the orange and blue gi looked up at the youngster to see him beaming down at her, which quickly prompted her to straighten up to save face before her trainer.

"Good job, Videl. You've become a much faster flyer over the last couple of weeks," the demi-Saiyan chirped.

Swallowing heavily, the girl grinned and brushed her damp locks out of her face, "Well… I have been practicing a lot lately. You should know, since you've been the one overseeing my training the entire month."

The young man chuckled, "Yeah. I guess I have. But hey, there's always a little room to be surprised." He then looked her over and turned to the side. "At the rate you're going, in about another year's time… I bet you'll become just as strong as any one of the members of the Ginyu Force… maybe even more."

"Really?" Videl asked in delight. She'd heard about those guys through Gohan's stories about Namek. From what she'd managed to gauge, those guys had been seriously tough back in the day; enough to be called Frieza's elite.

"Uh-huh. If we stay on top of it and keep doing what we've been doing, I'm sure you'll be able to get to that level in no time," Gohan reaffirmed, putting his full and utmost confidence in the girl's abilities. It was a compliment that drew a smile from her lips and red from her cheeks.

It'd been close to a year now and in that time Gohan had been able to transform his best friend from a determined martial artist of King Chappa's level to a world class fighter comparable to that of the Z-Fighters around the Saiyan invasion period. If Gohan was able to train her to become this strong in the same amount of time it took Krillin, with her talent and determination, he was confident he would be able to transform her into something amazing.

Who knows? In just a few more years, she could become as strong as Tien, Yamcha and Krillin were around the time the Androids showed up.

However, in order to do that, she needed an edge and Gohan knew exactly where to find one.

"So. Why'd you get me to fly all the way up here?" Videl asked, looking around the large, floating platform she suddenly found herself standing on. "What is this place anyway?" Blinking a few times, she then looked back at the young Saiyan in surprise. "Wait… hang on a second… is this…?"

"Yep. Kami's Lookout," Gohan chirped, at the same time beginning to lead her down the causeway towards the palace on the other end of the artificial island. "This is the same place Krillin and the others trained when the Saiyans were coming… and it's the same place me and my dad trained before the Cell Games."

"W-Whoa," the girl exclaimed, falling in step with her friend while surveying the very spot most of the people on the planet far below believed to be nothing more than myth and legend. But now, after hearing all of the tales Gohan had told her about his epic adventures over the years, she was finally starting to see that all those myths and legends were actually true. "This is amazing." She then looked over at the boy. "B-But why did you bring me here now? Is this another part of my training?"

"Yep. I was thinking that for the next couple of months, whenever you're visiting or staying over at my place, we can come up here and have a few sessions together. The change of atmosphere and setting should be really good for your development as a hardnosed fighter," the demi-Saiyan informed with a smile, glancing across at her at the same time. "I… also had something else in mind."

"Oh? What kind of thing?"

"You see, during our adventures on Namek, Krillin and I met the leader of the Namekian people and the creator of their planet's dragon balls, Guru. He was an incredibly wise ruler and very strong in his race's techniques. When we visited him, he gave me and Krillin a gift by unlocking the hidden potential inside of both of us. This gave us enough strength to fight toe to toe with the Ginyu Force," Gohan informed, stopping them between the rows of palms so as to focus fully on his companion. "While we weren't strong enough to beat them, by unhinging our fighting potential he was able to give us a massive edge in our final battles and allowed us to grow stronger at a faster rate."

The damages they'd received and recovered from their fights with both the Ginyu Force and Frieza later onwards had allowed Gohan and Krillin significant boosts in strength and skill. While this was most certainly the case for Gohan due to his Saiyan genetics, the boy had noticed that his teammate had also gotten a lot stronger between the battles as well. This showed the capabilities unlocking ones potential had in the long term, which was what gave Gohan this idea to do the same for Videl.

The girl's eyes shone with anticipation at what the half-Saiyan was suggesting, "So you brought me up here to see if you can unlock my potential as well?"

"That's right. I can sense how strong you're becoming and how quickly you're progressing in your training. I can also sense you've got a lot of bottled up energy inside of you," Gohan replied, before then directing her attention towards the palace. "At your absolute maximum, you're almost about as strong as Krillin and I were when we were traveling to Namek. I think it's only fitting that we gave you the same edge I got back then."

It was then the pair approached three familiar figures waiting for them up ahead. Videl recognized one of them immediately and smiled at his presence.

"Good morning, Piccolo."

The Namekian warrior smiled back, "Hey, runt."

Grinning, the raven haired girl then turned her attention to the other two people standing beside the caped fighter. One of them was a black skinned man in a vest, turban, baggy pants and pointy shoes, while the other was another, much younger Namekian, about the same age as her, adorned in white robes, a blue scarf, and carrying a wooden staff.

Noticing her looking at the new pair, Gohan gestured towards them, "Videl, this is Dende; the friend I told you about from Namek, the new guardian of earth and the inheritor of our planet's dragon balls."

Jerking upright at realizing exactly who she was addressing, the girl then bowed respectfully to the two people in front of her, "H-Hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And hello to you too," Dende exclaimed with a friendly smile. "Gohan has told me a lot about you, Videl."

"And he's told me about you as well," the raven haired martial artist replied, grinning across at the young overseer of the planet. "Is it true that he saved you from Frieza and his men back on your home planet?"

"Yes. It's true," the boy replied with a slight laugh, "He and his friends were really brave, and they fought so hard too. Even though that monster got me in the end, we were all able to turn it around and get him back for everything he did to us."

"So I heard," Videl giggled, before then turning to Mr. Popo to see him smiling at her as well. His appearance earned a bow from the child as well, "Good day, sir."

The guardian's advisor nodded in return. "Good day."

Gulping, the girl glanced back at her trainer. "So Gohan… what happens now? Am I going to have to go through some sort of trial or… exam or something?"

Smiling brightly, the demi-Saiyan then turned to his alien friend. "You heard what we were talking about before, right?"

Dende immediately nodded at his question, "Yes, I did. You wish to try and unlock your friend's potential in the same way that Guru was able to unlock yours?"

"Yeah. That's kind of what this whole trip is about," Gohan replied nervously and with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Do you… think you'll be able to do it? I know it's asking a lot from you and everything, but…"

The young Namek nodded his head confidently, "Lord Guru passed onto me the ability to heal as well as a few of our other race's techniques. Though I'm not as proficient at them as he was, I'm certain I'll be able to bring something to the table. Mr. Popo has been getting me to work really hard and I've had plenty of time to practice my skills as the new guardian of earth."

Gohan's face lit up at the news, "That's great. Awesome." He then turned his attention to Videl and nodded her towards his friend. "He says he'll give it his best shot."

"O-Okay," the girl gulped, stepping forward and watching Dende move forward as well. Appearing anxious, Videl knelt down in front of the Namekian boy and closed her eyes, allowing the watcher of earth to lift his hands up and hold them above her head. Her position allowed the young guardian to feel out her ki a lot easier than from his previous position and, in a matter of moments, he started to work his magic.

Moving to stand beside Piccolo, Gohan and the others watched on as Dende tightened his face in concentration, at the same time Videl firmly held her position. With a few words of encouragement, the gutsy fighter relaxed, making the worker's job that much easier.

For the next few minutes everyone remained as they were and silence prevailed over the area. The butterflies danced over the flowers and the wind blew over them like a veil. It was only after a certain amount of time had passed that Dende finally found what he was looking for and, opening his eyes in surprise, a smile quickly pulled across his face. He then looked down upon the girl kneeling in front of him.

"Wow. You have a lot of power sleeping inside of you. It's incredible." He saw Videl peek up at him with one eye. "You must have been training really hard to have this much potential energy stored up."

"A-Are you sure?" the girl asked, not really knowing what to make of this information. "I've already pushed myself to my absolute limits. I'm actually amazed I was able to make it this far."

"And you can push yourself even further still," Dende said softly, beaming at the girl in a comforting manner. "With this much potential energy, you have the ability to go as far as any one of the Z-fighters." His expression then became serious and, once again, he began to focus. "Now… hold still for a moment."

At first batting her eyes in confusion, Videl and everyone else then became aware of a strange humming sound filling the air. Accompanying it, the girl saw the Namekian's hands begin to pulse with a bright, yellow light, moments before the glow vanished back into his palms. Then, without warning, the girl suddenly felt a surge of energy swell up inside of her and explode from her body in a flash of light, engulfing her in a burning white aura. The energy blazed around her like a flame and, as if feeling a massive weight lift clear from her shoulders, she felt her body lighten and her power soar.

Piccolo, Gohan and Mr. Popo actually blinked in surprise at the amount of energy they suddenly felt appear from the girl. The sight of her now radiant form brought an eager smile to the demi-Saiyan's face and a nod seconds later. Then, upon seeing Dende step away, they watched the young martial artist rise to her feet and look down at her glowing hands in astonishment.

"Whoa," Videl gasped, clenching and unclenching her fingers. "I-Is this _my_ power?"

"Yes," Dende replied with an affirmative gesture, "The power that's been lying dormant inside of you. How do you feel?"

"I… I feel…" Stammering at first, the pigtailed fighter then grinned joyously and threw her hands into the air in triumph, "I feel fantastic! WOW!" Laughing happily, Videl bounced on her toes and sprang into the air, allowing her aura to blast around her freely while performing an aerial flip. Coming back down to ground level after her expression of delight, she landed with a light tap and threw a series of swift punches, all of which she unleashed at blurring speeds. "Oh man! This is great! Thank you so much!" Powering down, Videl quickly rushed up to Dende and took his hands in hers, shaking them gratefully. "H-How can I repay you for this?"

The young Namekian blushed under the girl's brilliant smile and shook his head. "It's alright. Just keep working hard like you were before and don't stop training…" He then glanced across at Gohan, who too was smiling. "Am I right?"

"Yeah. She wants to become as strong as all of us one day. I'm sure that after this, she's one step closer to achieving that goal," the youngster replied, strolling forward and moving up to his two friends, both of whom turned to face him. Thanking Dende just as Videl had, the demi-Saiyan then focused his attention on his student. "Well… what do you think?"

A giggle soon followed as Videl raised a determined fist, "This is better than I ever imagined. Thank you, Gohan." She then stepped up to him and gave him a hug, one that the boy accepted gladly before seeing her spring off of him and turn away with a blush. "I… I mean… I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad to hear that," the boy chuckled, looking her over once more before then giving her an expression of intent. "Because I think it's time I gave you your first real test to see how far you've come." When he saw her look at him in surprise, Gohan then nodded towards her and continued, "You're entering the World Martial Arts Tournament coming up in the next couple days, right?" This question immediately had the group's collective attention, especially Piccolo's.

"Yeah. The officials have recently shortened the time and dates between each of the events, so now they're hosting the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai for this year." Videl's eyes then widened in sudden realization and she looked across at the boy in awe, "Y-You're going to enter it as well?"

"Of course. But since I'm under age I'm going to have to enter the Junior Division lineup they've included in the schedule, so I can't quite go for the World Championship belt just yet," the demi-Saiyan chuckled while rubbing his head in his characteristic manner. "I think this will be a great way to see what fighting in the arena is really like. Even though I've already got a part time job, now that I have a little brother to look after, I want to make sure that my mum has enough money to feed and take care of him for the next few years. The prize money from the Junior Division will be a really big help."

"Oh. I see," Videl gave the boy an understanding look and smiled. "I'm sure that will make Chi-Chi very happy."

"I want it to be a surprise too, so I'm only going by myself. I'll invite the others next time," Gohan replied, a smile pulling across his lips before he then glanced up at his mentor, whom he could see was looking at him seriously. "You can come and watch me too if you like, Piccolo."

The Namekian warrior smiled and nodded, "Sure thing, kid. Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."

Gohan then turned his attention to the others, "Dende? Mr. Popo?"

His eager inquiry drew a light chuckle from the guardian of the planet, "Maybe next time, Gohan. I've still got a lot of work to catch up on. But I'll be sure to support you from afar."

Acknowledging the young Namekian's response, the spirited fighter once again focused his attention on his student, whom he could see was staring at him with great intensity and excitement. "A fight between us in the final round would be an awesome way to test your new fighting skills." He then raised an eyebrow and gave her a competitive grin. "Not to mention it'll be a real pleasure to fight with last year's Junior Division Champion." This remark earned a smirk from the raven haired girl, who balled her fists in response. "So… what do you say, Videl?"

Not one to back down from a challenge as she too has been known to give them out, Videl raised a fist and held it up towards her friend and full-time trainer, "You're on, Gohan-kun."

And with that, the two of them bumped knuckles, sealing the agreement.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Not much action in this chapter, but definitely a lot of development. A nice little moment with Gohan and Videl, as well as Videl stepping into the next phase of her training. So we have the next two chapters devoted to the tournament. After that, we have a few years gap and then the next part of the series.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :)


	9. Big Day Out

Author's Note: Moving on to the next chapter and the very first World Martial Arts arc in this story. This one features Gohan and Videl participating in the Junior Division, with a little surprise waiting for them.

Seeing as how I've moved into this arc, I think I should put some numbers to the questions for comparisons sake. I'll use Kana's numbers to help arrange this:

(Saiyan Saga):

Saibaman – 1,220 riki

Radditz – 1,220 riki

Nappa – 5,000 riki

Vegeta – 19,000 riki

Krillin – 300 riki

Krillin (Post-One-Year-Training) – 1,700 riki

Krillin (Unlocked Potential on Namek) – 23,000 riki

Gohan – 5 riki

Gohan (Enraged) – 1,350 riki

Gohan (Post-One-Year-Training) – 1,600 riki

Gohan (Unlocked Potential on Namek) – 24,000 riki

(Present):

Videl (Pre-Training) – 130 riki

Videl (Post-One-Year-Training) – 1,300 riki

Videl (Unlocked Potential) – 15,000 riki

Gohan – 16,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 200,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 375,000,000 riki

Krillin – 8,000,000 riki

Piccolo – 85,000,000 riki

Zangya – 150,000,000 riki

Considering how far everyone has come, a power level like Radditz's isn't that big of a milestone anymore, especially when the Z-fighters know how to train their ki to get stronger so much better now. It's kind of funny how far everyone has come since the good old days.

I just wanted to write this up to see how everyone compares now. In the words of TFS Vegeta, power levels are BS.

* * *

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Big Day Out_

(Two Days Later)

Making sure to leave a note on the fridge telling his mother that he was 'going to Videl's place for a visit', Gohan quickly gathered up the money he would need for the day and headed off. Adorned in his father's signature orange and blue gi and a big smile on his face, the youngster took flight into the still dark morning sky and immediately headed straight in the direction of the island where the _World Martial Arts Tournament_ was being held. He left his home full of glee and vigor, but just as he was soaring over the forests of his homeland towards the coastline, he suddenly felt a shadow latch onto him.

"So… where's the bad little boy sneaking out to this time?"

Looking over his shoulder in surprise, Gohan saw Zangya flying close behind him, her arms folded over her chest and an amused grin on her face. The look she threw him was one of mischief; one that reflected the underhanded nature of this little escapade of his.

"Oh. Good morning, Zangya."

The instant she was addressed the orange haired woman casually pulled up alongside the teen and set a comfortable pace next to him, the wind rushing past them and waving their hair about. "Normally you would be out on the grasslands, bench pressing mountains and kicking the shit out of yourself already, but… if I didn't know any better… I'd say you were bailing on today's session." A sly smile formed on her face. "Giving up already?"

Gohan chuckled, "What? Of course not. What in the world gave you that idea?"

"Well, the fact that you're a hundred miles away from home and still moving at jet speed kind of tells me that you're either abandoning your morning training routine or you've got something else fun planned," Zangya replied with a shrug. "Either way I'm interested."

"Let's just say I've got some family business to take care of."

"Is it of the boring variety or the fun variety?"

"B. Fun variety."

"Goodie."

The demi-Saiyan setting the speed gave her a roguish grin of his own, "Are you sure you don't want to be hanging around at my place looking after my baby brother?"

"Your mother is fine taking care of the brat on her own. Believe me, I know. I've seen how she operates," Zangya said, flashbacks of watching the woman dice up an entire tuna the size of a living room with only a carving knife, while at the same time blindly hanging washing on the line with the basket strapped to her back appearing in her head. "She's a super mum. I highly doubt she needs somebody like _me_, a former space pirate, shadowing her and throwing her off her game."

"If you say so. Still, if you ever feel like turning around…"

"Not a chance. So… where are we going today, _dad_?" Zangya asked in a playful-slash-mocking tone of voice.

"We're going to an event that my father competed in many times while he was still a kid; the _World Martial Arts Tournament_ on the South-East islands."

"Is this anything like that _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ that you and your companions entered a year ago?"

"Yeah. Only this one is tamer and focuses more on the fighting than the 'fun-house' the event is set in. Think of it as a giant kickboxing tournament where there are no ropes," Gohan replied, trying to describe the scenario for her as best as he could.

"Sounds fun. Is there any particular reason why you're entering this thing now and why you haven't invited your mum to it?" Zangya asked, rolling over so that she was flying on her back and looking across at the boy at the same time. "Is it because you're looking to blow off some steam? Or is it something else?" She then took on a momentary look of surprise and then grinned cheekily. "Or are you using this as an excuse to go on a date with _Videl_?" The name rolled off of her tongue in a very serpent like way.

The question caused Gohan to balk so badly in shock that he actually lost control of his flight and literally spun out of the sky. When he eventually course corrected and flew back to the altitude the laughing Zangya was gliding at, the blushing demi-Saiyan looked across at her in dismay. "WHAT? A d-date?"

"Hey, there's no shame in admitting it. You're a young, tough guy with an alien heritage who's growing up fast and… let's be honest here, she's a pretty strong runt herself with a spunky character and a mean kick. You two are perfect for each other."

Scowling slightly, the boy huffed and looked ahead of him again with a glare, "I'm telling you, it's not like that. We're just… friends." Zangya picked up the moment of hesitation and spotted the blush on his face. Shaking his head, Gohan quickly regained his bearings, "Besides… I'm participating in the event for other reasons. My mum needs the money to raise Goten and, even though I'm working, looking after two Saiyan children will be really hard for her. So I'm going to participate in the Junior Division and win first place to get the prize money."

"Junior Division?" Zangya murmured, finding it strange that the strongest boy in the universe would be signing up to play in such a minor league.

That was seriously cutting his skills down the sides.

Gohan rolled his eyes, "New rules of the tournament. They put that in the same time Hercule Satan stepped into the ring for the first time. Apparently it was a decision made by the board in response to the public growing sour at the idea of kids participating in the same league as adults. While that's all well and good, frankly I think that's a little bit unfair. My dad and Krillin were fighting in that tournament ever since they were my age and nobody had any problems with it back then."

"Hey. Times change," Zangya said, looking up towards the sky with a frown while continued to fly on her back. "In my experience, I've always had the ability to force change whenever something I didn't like happened. Bojack really had his heart set on that kind of movement; a universe where his dreams could become reality and he could claim whatever he wanted. But after years of pursuing that ideal and being stuck inside of a star with nobody but those four idiots to talk too, I started having second thoughts about my life."

The half-Saiyan scoffed, "Destroying worlds and conquering civilizations fell out of taste for you?"

"Yeah," Zangya murmured, glaring down her body as the pair flew along. She didn't even falter when she sensed the boy's eyes on her. "I'd take it all back if I could… _all_ of it… but I can't. Bojack was an asshole and a monster. If we didn't do what he said or if we didn't live up to his insane expectations, then he would have killed all of us right there on the spot."

Hearing this reminded Gohan of another particular tyrant who killed people as a kindness and viewed everyone beneath him as trash. The thought of the pale-skinned alien sent a chill through his spine and immediately had the boy try to rid his mind of those memories, "You did everything you could in order to survive."

"Mmm," Zangya nodded, before then looking across at the half-Saiyan and taking notice of the sun starting to rise over the distant mountains behind him, which were now slowly transforming into lowlands. "I'm grateful he's gone. The others too. They were willing to follow that bastard to the ends of the universe and burn every single planet in their way to get there, but me… even though I believed that I'd gotten swept up in their power-hungry madness to the point of blindly following his orders, all I was really searching for was a way out. A chance to escape." The woman then spared the boy next to her a smile and nodded. "You gave me that chance… and I… I'm really grateful to you for sparing my life, Gohan. Thank you."

Gohan, feeling his heart thump at the woman's sincere sounding words, smiled across at her. "You're welcome, Zangya." Seeing her right herself so that she was flying normally with her arms at her sides, the half-Saiyan looked ahead of him and focused on their destination. "My father always believed in giving people a second chance and that having compassion could be a big strength in our line of work."

"Your father sounds like a good man," Zangya chuckled, also looking ahead of her thoughtfully.

Grinning, the youngster glanced at his companion once again, "I plan on becoming as strong a fighter and as great a man as he was. I will do everything I can to live up to his legacy." Seeing her eyes focus on him, Gohan continued to speak. "You know… you remind me a lot of some of the other members of our group who used to be our enemies. They were pretty hardcore bad guys too. But after so many years of knowing them and fighting alongside them, they became some of our closest friends."

"Really?"

The demi-Saiyan nodded. "It would be really awesome if… _you_ became our friend as well." His eyes shone with a clear sign of hope. "I really enjoy spending time with you, Zangya."

The blue-skinned woman beamed at his statement, "You know what… I think I will… if you'll permit me of course."

Gohan nodded, "Sure. No problem."

Feeling a lot lighter than before, the Hera-seijin sped up enthusiastically and once more turned to gaze at the approaching horizon. "I'll do my best to fit in and make up for all the trouble I've caused you. Kami knows I've made my share of mistakes in my life. But don't expect much from me too soon. I'm… still trying to get used to all the goody-two-shoe-ness of this planet."

"Don't worry too much about it," Gohan chuckled, shaking his head at the same time, "Vegeta's been with us even longer than you and he's _still_ trying to adjust. By contrast, you've made much more progress in eight months than he has in five years. He finds fitting in a lot more bothersome than anything else."

By this point in time, the two had passed the coast and were now traveling over wide expanses of sea and islands. As the wind whipped at their hair and the pair continued covering the distance between them and their final destination, both Gohan and Zangya was allowed a comfortable moment of silence until the Hera decided to speak up again.

"I think your friends might take a little while longer to warm up to me."

"Give them some time. I'm sure they'll come around sooner or later."

OOO

Several minutes later, the island that the Tenkaichi Budokai was being hosted on pulled into view. Adjusting their trajectory and dodging traffic so as to avoid a humorous midair collision, the pair quickly descended to ground level and honed in on the nearest highway. The moment they touched down at a busy intersection, startling the heck out of a bunch of people crossing that area, the two of them then began a leisurely wander of the roads.

As the hours ticked by and more and more people started to arrive on the landmass, both Gohan and Zangya quickly saw exactly what was involved with this whole tournament thing. Though he'd never attended any of his father's matches or saw any previous fights on the television for that matter, the demi-Saiyan noticed that the atmosphere was almost exactly identical to the one from the Intergalactic Martial Arts competition.

The crowds were vast and the entertainment was plentiful. Stalls, restaurants, and fair rides lined the roads in all directions, and no matter which way they turned the pair found their sights flocked by dozens upon dozens of civilians. After only a few minutes of exploring the thoroughfares and footpaths the pair had half a mind to ditch traditional etiquette and fly the rest of the way to the stadium.

However, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves, they stuck to the ground and just made their way through the old-fashioned way.

Amidst all the chaos and growing excitement, the two of them were able to stop for a quick bite to eat, where Gohan gorged himself on restaurant food while Zangya ate at her usual pace, yet maintained the decency to look surprised at the amount the boy was able to put away in one sitting.

It wasn't long before they happened across the outer wall surrounding the main venue of the competition and with their destination fixed they started trudging their way towards the entrance.

While making their way towards the archway, the pair's attention perked up when they spotted a familiar figure already standing by the wall and waiting for them. The sight of his white cape and towering form caused a smile to tug at Gohan's lips. "Yo, Piccolo. What's up?"

Eyes cracking open, the Namekian smiled down at his student, "Not much, kid. Just waiting for you to show up." He then took notice of the orange haired woman standing alongside the teen and frowned, "Oh. You're here too?"

"Hey, green man," Zangya greeted with a smirk, "Didn't expect to see you out in public."

"Funny. I can say the same thing about you," the demi-Saiyan's mentor shot back, his eyes narrowing somewhat. "Did you come to compete or are you just here to observe?" He was also going to ask whether she was here to do neither of those things, but he wisely chose to reserve judgment until after the tournament was half-way finished.

The woman coyly flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Unless there's a challenge, I'm not interested. Perhaps next time when the rest of your friends are here. I'd rather see how this competition is done before deciding to participate myself."

"Hmph," Piccolo grunted, before then glancing down at his student to see him grinning up at him cheekily. Seeing that the Son wasn't at all put off by the presence of his alien tagalong, the Namekian could relax a little knowing that the boy was okay with her. "It can get pretty intense in there. Are you ready?"

"Hey, if I can take on somebody as scary as Cell, then a big setup like this is nothing for me," Gohan replied confidently.

"Good. Then let's get you signed up." With a wave of his cape, the trio turned in the direction of the ongoing road and continued following the wall to the entrance.

When they arrived there, the group found themselves standing by a massive gateway with all the embellishments expected of such a prestigious event. The design of the points bearing a very temple like appearance that seemed all too familiar to one of them, the trio gave the arch a momentary once over before moving to the nearby desk, where two tournament officials could be seen sitting and taking down names for the competition.

When the line cleared, Gohan saw his chance and approached. "Hello there. I'd like to sign up for the Junior Division, please."

The monk with the mustache looked across at the eleven-year-old and smiled, "Of course, young man. And your name is…?"

"Gohan. Son Gohan."

"Son Gohan. Very good," the man scribbled down on the sheet. Upon which he then blinked and glanced up at the boy in the orange and blue gi. Taking a moment to inspect his uniform, his attention then fixed on the youngster's kindly face. "You… wouldn't happen to be related to Son Goku, would you? The former World Martial Arts Champion?"

The spiky haired youngster chuckled and scrubbed his head nervously, "Y-Yeah… actually. I'm… his son."

This declaration had the two officials beam and the taller of the two with the thick eyebrows nod in acknowledgement, "Well, it is truly a pleasure to see you're competing here today. I hope you put on a good show for us out there."

"Thank you, sir. That's very kind of you."

It was then the mustached official took notice of the other pair of oddly dressed fighters behind him, "Are… your two friends competing as well?"

"Oh no. They're just here to watch today," Gohan replied, but then leaned over with an inquisitive look. "Umm… would it… be possible for them to get a couple of seats in the stadium. I'm not sure if it's too late to get tickets, but…"

"If they're with you then that shouldn't be a problem," the thin official stated quickly. "The two of them can stand and watch from the stadium's walkway."

"Oh. That's great. Thanks," Gohan chirped, making sure they got all his details down before then being given instructions of where to go. Upon receiving them he then turned towards Zangya and Piccolo. "Got it."

"Next time you're going to be fighting in the big leagues," the Namekian informed with a smirk. "This'll be a good practice bout for you."

"And for Videl as well," the half-Saiyan replied as he slowly lead them in through the towering gateway. "I'm here to fight her just as much as I'm here to win the prize money. Think of it as killing two Saibamen with one blast."

If Piccolo had the good graces to laugh he would have. Unfortunately he didn't. Nor did Zangya. However, the former did give the kid an amused smirk at his old time reference while the woman merely strolled along at her own pace. When they passed through the gates and began making their way towards the courtyard, where all of the main fighters were set to gather for the preliminary selection process, the highway emptied out. It became smooth sailing the rest of the way across the grounds and after passing through another gateway, the trio soon happened upon the main building area.

Just before they could go through the corridor up ahead though, another familiar face stepped into view from the changing room and Gohan grinned when he recognized her, "Videl! Hey!" The girl was quick to spot him and when she did, a brilliant smile appeared on her face.

"Gohan! It's about time!" She quickly rushed over to him and stopped before her three trainers. Well… two trainers and _one_ audience member. Either way all of them were important figures in her life and the raven haired girl had no hesitation in acknowledging all of them with a smile. "I knew you were going to show up sooner or later."

"Yeah. Did you come here with your dad?"

"Split a jet. Could have flown here myself, but…" She sighed and rolled her eyes, "He wanted to spend some quality time with his little girl before the big day. Personally, I thought it was a great flight. This time he wasn't messing around and showing off in front of the stewardesses, and kept his volume level to a minimum. He can be a really awesome parent when he's not on camera and being his usual self. Of course…"

"All of that changed when you finally got off the plane?" He saw his friend slump over with a proverbial raincloud forming overhead, earning a sympathetic smile from the demi-Saiyan. "And you decided to bail on him?"

"Thank Kami I can move super-quick now," Videl groaned, before then looking back up at the kind boy with misfortune written all over her face.

Seeing the tears at the corners of her eyes, Gohan reached over and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, which he rubbed comfortingly. "Parents. Am I right?" His question earned a nod from the tough girl, whom the half-Saiyan stepped away from and surveyed from head to toe. "You're wearing your orange and blue gi? Far out."

"Yeah. It's still weighted, but I can't really feel it anymore," the martial artist replied while flexing her arms. Springing on her toes and taking a stance, she threw a swift combo of punches and grinned at her best friend. "This is good."

"You sure you don't want to wear something else?"

At this, Videl shook her head firmly and looked at the boy with certainty and confidence burning in her sparkling blue eyes. "I want the world to know the person who trained me; the _real_ strongest man in the universe, the one who helped me out when I was in a trouble, and the very same boy who I-" She then swallowed her tongue when she realized what she was about to say and stammered, "Uh… I mean… the person I've come to respect and admire… and become my best friend."

Gohan grinned happily at her words and nodded, "That really means a lot, Videl. Thanks."

"No problem," the slightly blushing girl exclaimed, bringing a fist up and jabbing it against his chest. She then gestured over her shoulder, "Come on. Registration is closing soon so they'll probably be calling all of the Junior Division fighters in a few minutes."

The boy gave an understanding look. "We should get going then." He then turned to look at Piccolo and Zangya, both of whom were listening to the pair with interest. "I'll see you guys at the end, alright?"

"Break a leg," Piccolo wished in his usual, cordial manner.

The orange haired woman chuckled, "He means the other kids. Show no mercy."

Laughing at the woman's joke, Gohan and Videl waved and parted ways with the two older fighters, scampering down the hall and disappearing from sight. This pretty much left the two alien warriors standing at the entrance for several minutes in silence before they eventually decided to head up to the stadium and find their spots.

Unbeknownst to the group of four, who'd been so invested in wishing each other luck, they failed to notice the small, shadowy figure that'd been watching them from behind a nearby tree. Draped in a brown, hooded cloak, with only their chin and mouth appearing from over the thick collar of the traveling article, the person had been sure to keep their presence hidden completely from sight. Even as other fighters started to file past them, the person remained, before then deciding to follow in after the two young warriors.

OOO

(Over the next hour)

The _World Martial Arts Tournament_ was really starting to live up to its name. Fighters from all across the globe had turned up and were continuing to arrive by the boatful to compete, all of them proficient in different forms of combat and all of them adorned in a variety of different costumes. Much like the Intergalactic Tournament months before, the promise of prize money had drawn in a bucket load of competitors. While most of them were definitely in it for the rewards being promised should they make it to first, second or third places on the chart, only a small number of them were really here for a shot at the title.

It was a pretty big show they were putting on and everyone was eager to get started. The sound of the crowds filing into the stadium just over the rooftops could be heard filtering over the rambunctious groups of martial artists. This was all the sign that was needed to let everyone know that the main events were just about to start.

"It's a shame the two of us are underage. I'd really like to fight it out on the ring with the adults," Gohan murmured in disappointed.

"Yeah. Same here," Videl replied with a bit of a frown as well as she watched the adults warming up across the courtyard, "Maybe it will be different next time. But for now we're just going to have to be content with blowing through the kids in the Junior Division. It was a piece of cake last time I was here and it looks like it's going to be a piece of cake this year as well."

"Well… until you reach the finals of course," Gohan remarked, at the same time grinning across at his raven haired student. "Don't forget; you've now got me to contend with."

"And you can bet that I'm going to give it my all when we finally meet each other in the ring," Videl answered, throwing the spiky haired fighter a grin while flicking a pigtail over her shoulder, "Even though I know you're going to win, there's no way I'm going to make it easy on you. You can count on it."

Sharing a laugh, the two youngsters went back to watching the competitors for the adult event file in, while at the same time trying to make out any of the other Junior Division entrees. Unable to find many even with their ability to sense energy, the demi-Saiyan then became curious about something and looked back at his friend inquisitively. "There are an awful lot of fighters here. How do you think they're going to decide who gets to compete in the tournament? Are they going to let all of them into the ring?"

Videl frowned, "Well, in the last several tournaments the officials decided the finalists through a series of preliminary matchups, which helped them to weed out the weaker fighters from the best ones, and allowed them to fill up the roster. But now they've switched to a stupid counter system where they decide through a test of strength whether you're able to qualify."

"Strength test?"

"A punch machine to be more precise," the raven haired youngster informed with a shrug. "If you ask me, I think that's a really cop-out way to decide who gets to battle it out with the champion in the lineup. The art of fighting isn't all about strength. It's also about speed and technique, and how you conduct yourself in the arena. Power is just a contributing factor."

"Yeah. You can say that again," Gohan murmured. Even though power was now a predominant factor in the case of the Z-fighters, they fought their battles on an entirely different level. When they were coming up against someone who was equal to them in power and speed, that's where strategy, intelligence, and skill came into the picture.

Taking interest in a couple of the more hilariously dressed fighters, including a man who'd gone full punk-rocker and another in colorful, super-hero spandex, the pair soon had their attention drawn to the front when a group of tournament staff members stepped up and began making their announcements.

"_**Could everyone who is participating in the Adult Division of the World Martial Arts Tournament please gather over here so that we may begin the preliminaries!"**_ the short, portly man in the checkered shirt and suspenders said through the microphone, before then gesturing over to his right by the board. _**"And to all those participating in the Junior Division please make your way over to the staff member standing beside me!"**_

"That's our cue," Videl chirped, taking Gohan's hand and quickly running him over to the front. The boy matched her speed with his own, ducking and dodging martial artists all the way across the quad, before eventually stopping before the tournament official in question. About a minute or so later, them and dozens of other youngsters all dressed in fighting gear were led across the rest of the court and into the central building.

Following the main corridor for several minutes, the platoon of adolescent fighters was eventually deposited in the main hall right where the entrance to the arena stood. Arranging themselves within the well lit area, they made extra certain to pay attention to the elderly monk who'd led them here so as to take in his next set of instructions.

"All of you who are participating in the Junior Division will wait here in this room until your names are called out. When they are, the two competitors who will be facing each other may pass through the barricade and follow the footpath up onto the ring to begin your match," the official explained, gesturing the children's attention towards the canvas divider with the tournament Kanji emblazoned upon it.

Looking at it, both Gohan and Videl could see through the beams of sunlight the stadium beyond the doorway. It was a sight that had them clench their fists excitedly.

"Remember, there is to be no quarreling between participants during the fights," the elder continued with a firm wag of his finger. "If you are not fighting out on the ring, you are either waiting here for your name to be called or warming up for your matches. Staff members will be posted here to keep an eye on you lot and if they see any roughhousing between competitors, the participants responsible will be automatically disqualified." Putting the fear of divine retribution in the groups of youngsters, the monk then gave them a smile and a nod. "Also, as part of the rules of this tournament, there is to be no hitting below the belt or poking in the eyes. Actions like that are considered dishonorable and are not allowed out in the ring. Am I clear?"

"_**Yes,"**_ came the unified reply from every child and youngster present.

Acknowledging their simultaneous responses, the official continued. "Good luck… and may the heavens smile upon you. As an added bonus to your experience here, not only will the winner of the Junior Division leave for home with one million zeni in their pockets, with the runner up receiving five hundred thousand, the victor will also have a chance to fight with Mr. Satan himself." He then pointed towards the wall, where the kids saw a large board being set up by two other officials. "You can find out when you'll be fighting and who your opponents are going to be on the roster over there. Bear in mind that your names have been randomly assigned to the lineup and that no changes can be made now that they've already been listed. So if you're fighting against somebody you don't want to, you can either stick it through or throw in the towel. It's your choice."

As soon as that announcement was made, almost every single child in the crowd made their way over to check out the brackets. Crowding before the board, with many of the stronger kids shoving their way to the front, they saw exactly how many were participating in the Junior Division and who they were set to battle in the first round of matches.

Thirty five fighters in total by Videl's count and judging from the variance in ages between those competing, it didn't look like their part of the tournament was going to be very exciting. With the adult division, the crowds had the pleasure of watching some real martial artists with real skills fight it out. This on the other hand was just a sideshow, an opening act that the spectators would have to sit through before the real fun started.

Of course, Gohan and Videl had every intention of putting on an awesome final round match for their run. That is… if they were actually fighting in the last round.

Sure enough…

"Hey. Check it out. We're on opposite ends of the board," Gohan exclaimed, pointing up at the brackets.

"Awesome. That means we get to face each other in the last round," Videl said, throwing the boy a grin and jabbing a fist into her open palm. "All we have to do is get through these guys and we'll be fine."

Apparently her words were loud enough for some of the more competitive kids to hear and when they turned to see what girl was bold enough to mouth off like that, they got the surprise of their lives when they saw the daughter of Mr. Satan standing behind them. One boy around thirteen years old and standing in front of her, dressed in a taekwondo uniform, turned to glare down at her, only to back off when he recognized her face.

"Gah! I-It's Videl Satan?"

"The champ's daughter is competing?" another kid spoke up when he turned to spot the teen. "Aw, man. Now we're never going to win this thing."

"Hey. She's wearing the same outfit as that boy next to her."

"Are they both disciples of the same gym?"

"Then that means he must be really strong as well!"

Seeing the commotion start up and the crowd of kids give them their full and undivided attention, the demi-Saiyan looked around oddly before turning to his friend. When he did, he saw that the raven haired fighter was rubbing her cheek in embarrassment and trying not to make eye contact.

"Wow. You're pretty popular around here."

"Yeah. You can thank my dad for that," the raven haired girl mumbled while smiling across at the Saiyan warrior. "It's a shame they don't recognize you from _your_ outfit. You are the son of a former world champion as well."

"Heh. I guess the tournament wasn't as commercialized back in the days my dad was competing as it is now."

"True. But I bet when the announcer calls out your name, he might make mention of your dad and the audience will remember who he is."

"That would be cool," Gohan remarked, radiating with positive waves at the thought of his father being acknowledged for his accomplishments in the previous competitions.

After making sure they had their placements for the tournament assured, the children then scattered around the room to wait out the next several minutes before they were all called out. While most of the kids decided to mingle, Gohan and Videl, adorned in the orange and blue colors signature of their respective mentors, decided to find their own space by the wall. Around them they could hear the kids challenging and trying to intimidate each other, while friends were boasting about how they were going to shake hands with the Champ at the end of this.

While the two best friends chatted in the corner, talking about a couple of new moves they were currently developing for their arsenal, the pair was unknowingly being watched by the same hooded figure from before.

Brown cloak with a ruffled collar covering their face, the figure had their arms crossed and eyes fixed firmly upon Gohan. When they saw the boy laugh at a funny retelling from his companion, the youngster in the hood sneered angrily and their fingers tightened against their arm.

Soon enough, after about twenty minutes had ticked by, the ring announcer's voice blared into life over the speakers. _**"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Welcome to the 25**__**th**__** World Martial Arts Tournament! I'm sure you're all looking forward to some action, so why don't we kick things off with the Junior Competition!"**_ The man's exclamations drew a loud cheer and applause from the massive crowds outside, alerting the youngsters to the start of the main events.

Looking up from their spots, Gohan and Videl saw an official waving them towards the arena doorway and begin ushering the young fighters scattered across the room through the barricade. Doing as instructed, all of the children marched in a single file out of the room and onto the ring to be introduced to the audience they would be performing for.

As the announcer, a blonde man in a suit and sunglasses, continued to read out his lines to the excited spectators, the children formed into a row behind him, all of whom stood upright before their supporters. _**"Unlike the Adult Division, there is no qualifying round! All thirty five of these young fighters are going to test their might in the ring. The rules of course are the same as the big leagues. Whoever gives up, lands out of bounds, stays down for ten counts, or loses consciousness, will lose it all!"**_ The speaker then gestured to the group of eager looking kids behind him. _**"Let's give it up for all our contestants and wish them the best of luck!"**_

Another rain of cheers cascaded down upon the pitch, drowning out all other sounds and swelling the kids' hearts with pride. Gohan and Videl were looking especially excited, the two of them taking it all in before they were then lead back into the waiting room. On their way down the steps, they sensed around to see whether or not Piccolo and Zangya were out there.

It didn't take them long to spot the two aliens standing up on the walkway at the very top of the square-shaped stadium, whom they waved towards in greeting. They received a wave from Zangya, but the Namekian maintained his composure and merely smiled their way.

A few short minutes after that, the Junior Division began.

OOO

The first couple rounds of the competition went by incredibly fast. As it turns out, Videl was right on the mark about this whole stage being a sort of sideshow. The audience didn't take the Junior Division seriously at all as one after the other, they watched kids step into the ring and start something akin to a routine circus performance.

Despite the variety of practitioners amongst the children, none of them had the experience, strength or maturity to truly call themselves fighters. Sure, it was fun watching a few of the kids try to pound the stuffing out of each other, with many older kids taking pity on the younger ones and quickly kicking them off of the platform, it was all just a pathetic sham really. While all the adults in the audience laughed their asses off, Gohan and Videl paid no attention to them whatsoever, whereas Piccolo and Zangya were just baffled by the sheer idiocy of it all.

"This is as entertaining as watching paint dry," the Hera remarked with a bored tone of voice after the fourth match had come and gone.

"Just wait a couple of minutes. I'm sure things will pick up by the time Gohan and Videl start their matches," Piccolo said, arms folded and eye twitching. Obviously he was the more composed of the two, but right now even he was having trouble keeping his cool through this joke of an opening.

As this was all going on, Gohan and Videl stood comfortably beside the back entrance, one with his hands on his hips and the other with her arms folded. They peered through the window as the next pair of youngsters, karate students, fought across the flat of concrete tiles with very unimpressed expressions in play.

"You're up next, right?" Gohan asked.

"Yep," the raven haired fighter replied with a yawn, "Against some older kid who practices kung fu. I'm sure his style is good, but his power will be sort of… lacking."

"Try not to hit him too hard then," the demi-Saiyan spoke in a firm tone, wisely reminding his student of her newly acquired strength. "Even though you were stronger than him before, you're now in a completely different league of martial arts. Just a tap to his forehead should be enough to get the job done. Just make sure not to crack his head open."

"Zero effort. Got it," Videl nodded in understanding. As she continued to stand there with her eyes forward, the pair then became aware of a 'hissing' sound and looked over their shoulders. When they did, the pair saw Hercule Satan peeking around the doorway and smiling at them. The sight of the big man had the girl smile, "Oh. Hi daddy. What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Well, I just wanted to see how my daughter was doing and came down here to wish her luck," the afro man replied quietly, being sure not to draw attention while approaching his little girl. Kneeling down beside her, the current world champion beamed at his great treasure, taking in her orange and blue gi while reaching up to pat her on the head. "You're fighting in the next round, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good. I know you're going to do well, sweet pea," the Champ exclaimed, grinning brightly before lowering his hand back to his side. One last look over drew a nod from the wrestling legend, "I'm so proud of you."

Videl's eyes sparkled at her father's words, "Thanks, dad."

Chuckling, Hercule then set his gaze upon Gohan. Not at all surprised to see him here, the man beamed at the young warrior and nodded to him respectfully. "Good luck in your matches too, Gohan. I hope to see you in the finals."

"Count on it, Mr. Satan," the half-Saiyan said with a smile of his own.

Acknowledging his words of confidence, the man in the white cape and brown gi then cleared his throat and rose up to full height. Upon which he quietly backed through the entrance and spared the duo one last wave. "I'll be watching your fights from the upper floor window. Good luck to both of you." And with that he disappeared, successfully managing to stealthily pass on his best wishes to his favorite little girl and her friend.

"_**And now for the next match: Videl Satan versus Lee Shen!"**_

"Finally. My turn," the raven haired girl chirped, slapping her cheeks lightly and making her way forward. She grinned over her shoulder at her partner, "Cheer for me, alright."

"Will do," Gohan gave her a thumbs-up.

Following her to the exit, the demi-Saiyan watched as Videl and her opponent, a tall boy wearing only a pair of gi pants and a belt, marched their way down the catwalk to the stage. Under the wild cheers and applause from the crowd, the pair ascended the stairway and took to the center, with the announcer being sure to blurt out their introductions.

"_**I'm sure we're in for a treat, folks! After months of rigorous training, last year's Junior Division champion Videl Satan is back in the ring and ready to make her climb to the top. And it looks like she's sporting some new colors too!"**_ Sunglasses flashing when the man recognized the garb she was wearing, he then gestured to her opponent as the pair split up and faced each other in the middle. _**"Her opponent Lee Shen is also a returning contestant. This young go-getter put on quite a show for us at the last tournament, but lost it out to Mudo in the quarter final match. Let's see how far he's come since then!"**_

With one last cheer from the crowd, the two youngsters squared off, with the raven haired boy looking raring to go whereas Videl simply stood there appearing passive as usual. Her unchanging expression had the fierce looking practitioner glare.

"I don't care if you are the Champ's daughter. You're still going down!"

Videl threw a bored look back at him. "Whatever."

Spinning his microphone, the excited announcer raised his hand and brought it down in a clean chopping motion, _**"NOW… LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"**_ He then backed off, giving the pair enough space to have at it.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" No sooner had the bell been sounded, the young Lee rushed forward and lunged down at the girl with a swinging right.

The second his punch was loose, Videl watched it approach her in bullet time, her expression remaining completely calm as she casually lifted her left and stopped it with her finger. Stunning the boy at her block, the girl then wasted no time in bringing her free hand up and, loading her index finger, flicked him in the forehead. With the sound of a 'slap', Lee was knocked tumbling across his entire half of the ring before eventually rolling over the side and hitting the ground with a dull thud.

When the dust cleared, it revealed the boy lying there with a red welt on his forehead and swirly eyes. "Ooh… mummy…?"

"_**R-Ring out!"**_ the announcer exclaimed in surprise, a grin slowly forming on his face as he then watched Videl stroll off of the ring._** "There you have it folks! The match is over! Let's give it up for Videl!"**_ When the crowd eventually got over the shock of the startling win, they quickly rolled with it and honored the victor with a round of applause.

As the washes of praise passed over him, the blonde haired announcer grinned at the retreating girl's back._ "Yes! I knew those colors looked familiar! She's wearing a uniform similar to the one Son Goku wore at his last tournament! This is amazing!"_ He then clenched his fists and pumped one discreetly. _"Finally, the fighters I've been waiting for! They're coming back!"_

His enthusiasm burning, the man knew right then and there he was bound to get something out of this tournament yet!

Zangya, who'd watched the whole thing from her position by the railings, was giving Videl a standing ovation. "Bravo! Bravo! Did you see how fast that kid rolled? Now _that_ is entertainment!" the woman laughed.

The Namekian standing beside her smirked, "Told you."

Up in the balcony above the waiting room, Hercule, who'd secured himself a comfortable place by the window, was at first stunned by the flawless victory of his daughter. Eventually though, after he was done gawking like a fish across the building's roof, he then put on the biggest grin you'd ever see on him and he let out a manly roar of triumph.

"YEAAAAAHH! THAT'S MY LITTLE GIRL!"

The whole of the stadium actually stopped for a moment when they thought they heard the great Hercule's yell.

Passing groups of stunned youngsters, Videl walked right up to Gohan and high-fived him. "Yes! Did you see that?!" Grinning from ear to ear, the girl clenched her fists excitedly and showed the boy her response to her amazing success. "That was awesome! I've never been able to do that before!"

"See what I mean. Your strength is on a whole other level now," the demi-Saiyan informed with an expression of unwavering confidence. "It's great that you have so much control over it as well. Great job."

"Thanks Gohan-kun," Videl said, at the same time giving the boy a fond look. She continued to stare at him warmly and with a shade of red in her cheeks, even when Gohan fixed his gaze back out the viewing window and went on to watch the next two junior fighters walk out onto the ring.

The next several rounds passed by at a humdrum pace. Once again, both Gohan and Videl had to endure another couple matches where adolescent youngsters were pummeling each other into submission. A couple of them cut and ran, one of them even cried, and another kid was even forcibly chased out of the ring after running circles around the announcer. Sure, the audience was entertained and the contestants were adorable, but all this really brought was a great deal of boredom to the Z-fighters that were actually in attendance of the event.

However, after passing the halfway mark of the first rounds of the Junior Division and moving onto Gohan's half, there was one fighter in particular that caught the demi-Saiyan's attention. It was only after they were both in the ring that he finally noticed them.

"_**And now for the tenth match: we have Takashi vs Paprika!" **_the announcer bellowed, directing the audience's attention to a boy in a karate uniform and the child in the dusty brown, hooded cloak, who was only half a head shorter than Gohan. Because the person kept themselves hidden, the people assumed they were very shy. _**"Let's wish these two the best of luck! BEGIN!"**_

The audience cheered as they watched the determined lad assume a fighting stance and prepare to advance on his quiet and still adversary. But just as he was beginning to shuffle forward, he suddenly saw a hand emerge from underneath the figure's cloak and point towards him. At first baffled by the unexpected gesture, the crowd soon became aware of why the young fighter had extended their palm because a split second later there was a loud crack of wind.

This was immediately followed by an invisible force that crashed into boy and sent him flying across the arena, which he bounced along several times before rolling to a stop at the edge. Clothing ruffled and covered in bruises, Takashi's body lay motionless on the tiles, bringing startled gasps from the people watching from afar.

While the sudden shockwave stunned the crowd, the people who were the most surprised by the unexpected hit were Piccolo, Zangya, Gohan and Videl, all of whom had picked up the sudden energy spike from the unseen attack.

The announcer quickly rushed over to the fallen Takashi to see if he was okay and breathed a sigh of relief. _**"Takashi is out cold."**_ He then turned and gestured to the cloaked figure, _**"The winner is Paprika!"**_

Lowering their hand, the short fighter turned to glare towards the waiting room, their red eyes fixing upon the raven haired boy in the window. When Gohan felt the person's gaze land on him, he narrowed his eyes and glared right back at them.

As the fighter now identified as Paprika left the stage, Piccolo and Zangya watched them closely from afar.

The Hera sweated nervously, "Hey… did you feel that just now?"

"I think so," the Namekian replied.

"What the hell was that?" That blast had obviously been a _**Kiai**_ attack. While there were a handful of fighters in the world who knew how to perform that move, to see that attack come from a kid they'd never seen before… it was unheard of.

Whatever it was they felt, the two warriors immediately knew they didn't like it and continued to watch closely as the person left the arena.

When Paprika strolled into the room, Gohan and Videl's eyes were still stuck on them. Hard expressions framing their faces, they saw the cloaked youngster walk over to the wall to stand beside it, where they then remained. As the unconscious Takashi was carted off stage, the next match soon began, but the two youngsters paid it little mind.

The daughter of the Champ broke a nervous bead of sweat as her eyes took in the newcomer, "This one…" She swallowed nervously. _"She's strong."_ It was brief but she'd felt it. An immense power level way above her own. Right now, the unknown fighter was masking their ki signature, keeping it hidden from them.

Though both she and Gohan knew the person's name, they couldn't see their face. That was discomforting on a number of different levels.

Many more matches came and went after that, and one by one a new victor for the next round was decided. Throughout that entire time, neither Gohan nor Videl's eyes left the cloaked figure positioned in the corner. That was until the demi-Saiyan's name was called.

"_**The next match: Gohan versus Aoki!"**_

Disengaging from his spot, the teen Saiyan shared a smile with his companion and headed out. Passing the barricade, both martial artists were greeted by a cheer from the crowd and a shower of applause, a background noise that carried them all the way to the stage. The moment they started ascending the steps, the announcer, thrilled at the sight of the familiar orange and blue uniform once again, began reading the details to the spectators.

"_**As you folks probably know already, young Son Gohan is a former contestant of the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament and one of the only four fighters to make it to the quarter finals. Having come so close to victory after a brush encounter with some unsavory characters, he's now decided to try his hand at the World Stage!"**_ the blonde announcer shouted to an excited crowd, most of whom quickly recognized the youngster from the various broadcasts. _**"And here's some exciting news, Son Gohan is also the son of former World Martial Arts Champion Son Goku, who disappeared from the limelight several years ago. That means we have two descendents of world champions fighting for us in the Junior Division today!"**_

A loud cheer rang up that drowned the ring and brought a blush to the cheerful demi-Saiyan's face as he strolled to the center of the platform. When he turned to face his opponent, he saw his foe glaring back at him with a bead of sweat running down his temple.

"_**It looks like his opponent Aoki is in for one hell of a match. Thirteen years old and a prodigy kick boxer, this kid is looking to claim the grand prize and a match with the Great Hercule Satan himself. Let's see how our two young fighters will fair!"**_ Raising his hand and sunglasses flashing brightly, the man then brought it down in a sweeping chop. _**"BEGIN!"**_

Placing a fist in his palm, Gohan bowed respectfully to his opponent who quickly set himself into a fighting stance and began to bounce on his toes. The gutsy Aoki growled as his fists hovered in a guard on both sides of his face, protecting his flanks while he nervously advanced on the Son fighter.

"Ha!" the taller youngster shouted, "You don't scare me, twerp. Father or no father, I'm going to wipe that smug grin off of your face." Despite the fact Gohan had no such expression in play, as he was just staring cheerfully back at him, the teen boxer was intent on following through with his threat.

The demi-Saiyan blinked, "Why are you calling me names? I haven't said anything to you yet."

"Because you're annoying! That's why!" Aoki shouted, before swiftly throwing a roundhouse kick at the boy's head.

Gohan effortlessly blocked it, watching the boy lower his leg and then throw a jab. With speed very few could track, the spiky haired Saiyan caught the fist and began to twist it in the wrong direction, immediately putting the boy in a painful wrist lock. Inch by inch, he lowered Aoki to the ground, who let out a pained cry as he fell to his knees and tried to pull his arm the other way, to no avail.

The still relatively cheerful Gohan grinned at him while he held the boy in position, "Say uncle."

"H-Huh?" Aoki stammered, only to then feel the pressure increase and he was pushed further down, earning another cry from the poor teen. "AAaaahh-UNCLE! Uncle! Uncle!"

"Okay." Gohan then released him, allowing the boy to roll onto his back, gripping his arm tightly. At that, he then turned and left, with the announcer grinning into his microphone.

"_**And that's it folks! The winner by forfeit is Son Gohan!"**_ The announcement drew another loud cheer from the crowd, who offered their congratulations to the young man for such a clean victory. The spectators watched the spiky haired hero bow to all of them and descend the stairs at a leisurely pace.

Videl, who was too busy cheering Gohan at the entrance for his performance, didn't notice the hooded figure they'd been watching earlier standing by the window.

Seeing the spiky haired boy approach the waiting room, the cloaked youngster gritted their teeth, showing off a pair of prominent fangs. "This is confusing. How can a monster like him be so kind and merciful to someone that is clearly much weaker than him?"

While it wasn't the win Piccolo and Zangya were expecting, it certainly was in the youngster's character. The orange haired woman was sure to roll her eyes when she saw the boy offer his gratitude to the audience for their praise and move on. This left the stage wide open for the next few rounds to follow and, once Aoki limped out of the ring, the next match could begin.

XXX

The rounds of the Junior Division plowed along at a faster rate following Gohan's effortless victory over his opponent. The young batch of fighters went into the ring with more vigor and determination than ever, the audience cheering them on every step of the way and applauding each of their successes. It was only a matter of time before the seeded fighters of the lineup were decided, with Gohan and Videl taking the top spot, while being closely followed by Paprika. Though the spectators had a fun time watching all of the kids battle each other, they soon began rooting for these three fighters in particular, all of whom had shown the most composure and the most promise in every round.

While the highlight for the Videl fans was watching their favorite girl toss her opponent out of the ring, for the Gohan club it was seeing the young man spin his opponent like a windmill before setting him down, by which point in time he'd been knocked unconscious at the sheer velocity he'd been turned. They were the two who showed the most physical use of their skills.

Paprika on the other hand was a wild card. The mysterious cloaked fighter, throughout all of her matches, didn't let a single one of their opponents lay a finger on them. While this definitely provided some physics bending entertainment for the crowd, all it did was raise a bunch of alarm bells for the Z-fighters in attendance. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't piece together who this newcomer was or why the name sounded so familiar.

It was certainly familiar to Piccolo and Gohan, as was the ki signature. But without a face or any other information to go by, they were just about as much in the dark about the hooded fighter as Zangya and Videl were.

After being kept in a constant state of question for an entire hour, it soon came to the semi-final round of the Junior Division. When the Champ's daughter wowed the audience with a stellar victory by effortlessly blowing her opponent out of the ring with a quick burst of wind from her fist, it was then the turn of her more experienced counterpart.

"_**And now we will decide who will be facing Videl Satan in the finals!"**_ the announcer exclaimed, earning a mighty roar from the crowds in the stadium. Tossing his microphone in the air, the man then caught it all stylish like and brought it to his lips, _**"It's time for our two other favorites to step out onto the ring! The seeded Son Gohan and the mysterious Paprika! Come on out you two!"**_

The moment the call was made, the two youngsters exited the waiting room together and began making their way down the footpath at an even pace. While the other contestants of the Junior Division that were also in the room spilled out of the entrance and crowded by the wall to watch the match between the two ridiculously strong fighters, Videl found herself a comfortable spot further along the grass and stood there with her arms folded.

Just like Piccolo and Zangya, both of whom were also watching closely from above, she too wanted to see why this mysterious fighter was making her skin crawl.

"_**I'm sure you've all been waiting for this match. Throughout this entire tournament, both fighters have displayed incredible levels of skill and collectedness. And now, finally, after breaking through a great wave of competition, the two are finally meeting for the first time in center stage!"**_ the announcer cried out, being sure to exit the ring the instant he saw the two of them walk onto it. Sensing the vibe of an all-out-war brimming on the horizon, the excited voice of the _World Martial Arts Tournament_ grinned as he then gestured to the youngsters now taking their spots. _**"Let's see who will move on to the finals! Fighters, let the match begin!"**_

While on one hand the announcer was hoping for an awesome fight, on the other hand he was hoping the arena would remain intact from it. If memory served him correctly, the last battle between martial artists who displayed super-human levels of ability reduced the entire area to rubble.

Hopefully this match would deliver the results he was hoping for with minimal losses.

Videl, watching carefully from the sidelines, frowned nervously. _"Gohan… be careful."_

The cheers of the crowd reducing to a clamor, the two young warriors faced each other with serious looks in play and eyes set firmly on the other.

From his new distance, the demi-Saiyan could make out a few more details about his opponent. Not only was the child shorter than him, he also noticed the skin coloration of their lower jaw and mouth. Instead of seeing a human pink or dark brown, he instead saw a sickly shade of green with white locks of hair poking out from the hood. The shawl did well in concealing most of the person's features, something that he was now determined to unmask.

Taking a steady breath, the boy turned side on with his adversary who then lowered themselves into what he guessed was a fighting stance.

The half-Saiyan frowned, "Alright. Let's do this."

Paprika frowned, "Shut up… _murderer_."

Giving a surprised blink at the mystery competitor's sudden retort, Gohan was unable to react in time when he suddenly saw his foe vanish in a blur before, with a deafening clap, a fist crashed across his face. The impact of the blow echoed throughout the entire stadium and saw spittle fly out of the Saiyan's mouth, the boy stumbling backwards for several yards, only to then receive an elbow to the cheek that knocked him flying across the arena.

Zangya, Piccolo, Videl, hell… even Hercule, all gawked in shock at what just happened.

His flight across the ring being marked by the sound of a jet soaring at low altitude, Gohan gritted his teeth and recovered with a quick back flip, slamming his feet into the floor and stopping him in his tracks. The instant he did, he suddenly felt a presence appear behind him and, eyes cutting to the side, ducked to avoid a chopping right from his six-o-clock. He retaliated with a back kick, missing when his opponent swayed and countered with a left hook.

Spinning around and slipping it at the same time, the half-Saiyan and the mysterious cloaked fighter began viciously attacking each other with a series of lightning fast punches and hooks. When Gohan attempted to nail them with a rapid fire chain of jabs, his opponent head slipped them effortlessly before unleashing a vicious barrage of punches on him, all of which he dodged and attempted to counter. But Paprika moved just as quickly and every lightning fast blow they threw at close range was effectively avoided.

After a fierce exchange of punches, Gohan broke the engagement with a swift roundhouse kick. However, the second his leg snapped towards the figure's head, the shorter fighter deftly caught it and with a shout, tossed him across the ring.

Yelling out in shock as he spiraled through the air, the demi-Saiyan quickly fell into a spin. Flipping several times, the boy landed on the very edge of the arena before, with a mighty bellow, launched himself across the ring and towards his opponent with a flying side kick.

However, the moment he came within two feet of them, Paprika vanished in a blur of movement, leaving the boy to slam his foot into the tiled surface. Skidding to a dusty stop, Gohan gritted his teeth and, with a gasp, began looking around the ring in wild paranoia.

"_Damn it! This one is definitely something else!"_ They were quick. Even with his speed, the demi-Saiyan could barely keep track of them. Hell, even their ki signature had completely vanished. _"Shit. Where the heck did he go?"_

Eyes darting around, Gohan then felt a tremor and looked down. At that exact moment, the tiles directly in front of him exploded and his opponent sprang up at him from underground, slamming a jumping uppercut into his chin. The blow, strong enough to cause a thunderclap, lifted the half-Saiyan off of the ground and into the air, where his opponent quickly jumped after him and smacked him back down to the arena with a double-hammer blow from above.

Gohan barreled across the ground, ending up on his back several meters later and gritting his teeth painfully. Before he could completely recover, a gasp suddenly escaped his lips and he rolled out of the way, avoiding his opponent slamming their foot into the tiles where his head was. The blow split the ground with a loud crack, a smirk forming on Paprika's face before Gohan unbolted a double kick into their stomach and sent them sliding across the ring, tearing a trench through the concrete.

Sprinting after the cloaked foe, Gohan leapt at them and attempted to flatten them into the floor. But as soon as he dropped down on them, Paprika flipped out of the way and avoided the boy's feet that smashed a small crater into the ground. The demi-Saiyan leapt after them a second time, but his still sliding opponent barreled out of the way once again and he ended up smashing yet another empty crater into the ring's surface.

His miss allowed the masked figure to leap to their feet and sprint away. Taking flight and gliding across the tiled surface of the ring with the other not too far behind, Paprika managed to make it to the edge of the ring and hit the brakes. Slamming their feet into the edge, the fighter swiftly changed directions and charged back at the approaching Gohan. A split second later, the pair collided elbows first, an impact that was marked by a booming shockwave that rocked the entire stadium and cracked the floor beneath them, before locking them in stalemate.

Pushing back against the other for several seconds, their bodies trembling from the opposing forces, the duo soon ended the grappling match and began swiftly exchanging blows. The sound of machinegun fire echoed out when the two young fighters began fighting expertly across the ring, their attacks flying at each other in a blur of movement and with superb martial arts skill. After a minute of darting across the ring, locked in epic combat, the pair stopped with their forearms slammed against their opponent's.

Attempting to gain the upper hand, Gohan chopped over with his free hand, only to have it caught by Paprika's blocking hand, leaving him wide open to a uppercut that flipped him into the air. When he landed on his knee, his opponent super-speeded behind him and attempted to bury a hand into his back, but was cut short when the boy threw a kick into their chin and sent them flipping into the air.

Spinning around, Gohan took a defensive stance and watched his opponent land and assume one as well. Blood leaking out of the corners of their mouths, both fighters glared heatedly at one another before, with shouts of rage, the two of them vanished into thin air.

The audience in the stadium was stunned into silence as they watched the two young fighters of the Junior Division battle it out in center ring. Or at least, they tried too anyway, because from out of nowhere, both Gohan and Paprika began fighting at a speed so great that the entire population of the vicinity was unable to keep track of them. The two child warriors were darting all across the arena in a blur, and not only were their blows loud enough that they could be heard outside of the coliseum, but the impact of some of their attacks had split the ground and punched holes into the concrete.

Needless to say, this battle was nothing that they were expecting… and the crowd loved every second of it!

"YAHOO! This is awesome!"

"I've never seen a fight like this before! This is unreal!"

"MORE!"

"Keep it up you two! Don't stop!"

"Go for the finals!"

Getting over the shock, the audience gave a wild, collective cheer as the two warriors continued to punch it out in their realm of speed, their forms darting this way and that, practically chasing each other all over the place. But of course, while the majority of the spectators were enthralled by the match, the only ones who were taking this even remotely seriously were Piccolo, Zangya and Videl.

The former two especially, because not only were they watching a battle only people of their level of ability could fight, but they were watching the strongest person on the face of the planet actually struggling against an opponent they had never encountered before.

Just who the hell was this Paprika?

Managing to recover from his astonishment, the announcer gave a joyous exclamation and threw his fist into the air, _**"WOW FOLKS! Look at these two fierce young warriors go! Speed like this hasn't been seen in this arena since the days of Tien Shinhan and Son Goku! Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing the rebirth of an era!"**_

For several minutes the two short fighters continued to fight it out in their own dimension of travel. Their forms were invisible to the naked eye, but every once in a while the crowd was able to catch a glimpse of their blurred forms darting across the mat or the pair reappearing locked in another grappling match, before vanishing once again. It was only after a certain amount of time ticked by that Paprika reappeared once again, this time in the sky above the arena, jabbing out at an opponent that wasn't there.

The moment the cloaked fighter's form phased into view, Gohan dropped down on them from above with an elbow that collided with the back of their head. A crack of thunder echoed out and a shout of pain escaped Paprika's lips as the two of them dropped from the sky and slammed into the center of the ring.

Landing on all fours and punching a small crater on impact, the hooded figure growled and looked up. When they saw the sky was empty, the masked figure's breathing became erratic as they desperately searched the area for them.

"W-Where the hell is he?"

"Right here!"

Gasping in surprise, Paprika spun around, only to have their vision clouded when the back of their cloak was pulled over and wrapped around their head. Their shout of surprise muffled, the hooded fighter was suddenly picked up by the demi-Saiyan using their cloak as leverage and, with a yell of effort, tossed the fighter over his shoulder and slammed them into the ground. Continuing to hold onto their cloak like a lasso, Gohan picked the fighter up again and slammed them on the other side, doing so repeatedly and cracking the tiles on every impact before, with a mighty roar, spun and tossed them across the ring. Paprika ended up tumbling over the concrete for several yards before eventually leaping back to their feet and coming to a defensive stance across the way.

Both fighters then held their ground, the audience finally spotting the pair and fixing all of their attention onto the youths. Clamoring and cheering starting up once more, both Gohan and Paprika found their ears filled with the sounds of chanting as the spectators egged them on to continue their epic battle.

After a full minute of standing and glaring silently across at one another, the demi-Saiyan soon grew frustrated at the atmosphere and straightened up. To put it into layman's terms; he'd had enough. "Hey! What gives?" His question immediately had the crowd's and his opponent's immediate attention. "How the heck are you so strong? I haven't fought somebody as tough as you since Kana and she wasn't even from this planet."

If memories served him well, the only fighters from this planet who were strong enough to give him any sort of trouble were his dad's friends. And even then they would find the task of doing so incredibly difficult as well.

This one packed a wallop.

Catching on to the boy's inquiry, the cloaked, bruised figure spat in disgust and straightened up as well. "Figures a monster like you wouldn't know who I am. I mean, what else can I expect? You did destroy my entire planet without so much as batting an eye."

"Wait. I did what?" Gohan balked, blinking a few times in astonishment as what his opponent just said. "I… destroyed your planet?"

"That's what I just said, you callous prick."

"B-But…" Completely overwhelmed by this person's unexpected claims, the demi-Saiyan shook his head and gave them an intent stare. "Hold on a second. There has to be some kind of mistake. I… I didn't destroy anyone's planet. You must have me confused with someone else."

"Don't play dumb with me, Son Gohan! You may act like you don't remember, but I know full well what you did!" Clenching their fist tightly, the hooded figure snarled and stepped towards him angrily, "I know because I was there! I saw you do it! Five years ago, I watched from afar as you blasted my entire world into oblivion and sent my father plummeting into a black abyss! The inhabitants of earth wouldn't remember witnessing an event like that. After all… my people were nothing more than a mere myth to this world… relics of a time long forgotten."

Feeling something akin to dread coming over him, Gohan narrowed his eyes dangerously and took a step forward as well, "Who are you?"

Grunting at the glare the boy sent their way Paprika then breathed an irritated sigh and reached up with their hand. "Still can't remember? Fine. Maybe this will help jog your memory!" With a swift tug, the figure removed the cloak and threw it onto the wind, revealing to the stadium the fighter it was concealing underneath.

The audience and Gohan received one hell of a shock at what they saw.

The child wasn't human. That was what they immediately got on first glance. If the moss green skin that they had wasn't a dead giveaway, then the pointy ears and the horns growing out of their hair were.

Continuing to take in their appearance, not only did Gohan see that the person had long white, messy hair that grew down their shoulders, but the youngster also wore fighting shoes, red leg warmers, a red belt, black figure hugging pants, a short-sleeved top with red trim and the midriff exposed, and black, pull-on sleeves with a red trim as well. On top of that, the foreigner was also wearing a long red scarf wrapped around their neck, which waved on the wind like a cape as much as their hair.

Aside from looking to be the exact same age as Gohan, the boy was also surprised to see that the fighter was in fact a girl.

Her prominent lashes narrowed as she showed off her fanged teeth and fixed her blood red eyes in a hateful glare upon the demi-Saiyan. "Does this face ring any bells?"

Eyes widening, flashbacks of beings similar to this girl's appearance flew through his head as he thought back to a day prior to Radditz's arrival, one filled with demons and a vortex in the sky. He also recalled memories of a great battle he'd fought many years ago, where the world had fallen under the spell of the _Black Water Mist_ and a group of power-hungry figures threatened to destroy everything he cared about. There was one figure in particular out of that entire group that stuck out in his mind.

His laugh was one of the many that continued to haunt his nightmares.

Gohan swallowed and stammered nervously, a cold chill running up his spine, "Y-You're…"

At that moment, Piccolo also realized who the girl was and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Finally figured it out?" Paprika asked with a smirk, before her expression darkened once more into a look that had the crowds watching shiver with fright. "Garlic Junior was my father. He conceived me four years prior to the day you knocked him into the void known as the Dead Zone." She then clenched her fists even tighter. "Years later, he managed to break free from that wretched hellhole and returned to us. But after only a month of freedom, he was once again tossed into the same prison he'd broken out of by the very person who put him there in the first place. Now, thanks to you, he's trapped forever in a world of shadow and despair."

It was this revelation that finally clicked in Gohan's head.

He remembered all of it; the final battle between his friends and the immortal demon Garlic Junior. Flashes of that day filtered into his mind, showing him an enemy he'd fought long ago when he was only four years old and then came back a second time for revenge years later.

On that day, he threw the power mad conqueror into the void of the Dead Zone and destroyed the rogue planet that was the source of his race's power, the Makyo Star. He figured after dispersing of that demonic realm that he would finally be rid of that nightmare once and for all.

However, it seemed as though fate had other plans for him and he was now staring down the face of his former enemy's daughter.

Gohan frowned, "Your father was a monster who tortured my friends and threatened to destroy the earth. I had no other choice. He had to be stopped."

"And what gave you that right, huh?!" Paprika shot back, her teeth bared in rage. "Thanks to you, my entire planet, my home and the only family I had is now gone! And it's all because of you!" Snapping angrily, the girl shook the tears from her eyes and sneered at the boy staring back at her. "I spent five years training, becoming strong enough to defeat the one who robbed me of my father. And now that I've found you, I'll be able to take my revenge and make you suffer for what you've done!"

Eyes narrowing at every word she spoke, the shaken teen quickly regained his composure and took his stance, "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone. All I did was fight to protect my friends from a madman who wanted nothing more than to take them away from me. It was the only thing I could do." He slid his feet apart and took a stance. "But if it's a fight with me that you want… then it's a fight you'll get. Come and get me."

Paprika growled, "With pleasure."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: And so another enemy shows up, but this one is solely after Gohan.

The Dead Zone was one of my favourite DBZ movies back in the day, I just really liked the tone of it, and I came up with this villain after watching Gohan blow up the Makyan Race's home planet the Makyo Star. You would think after doing something like that, someone from that race would be coming after him, so I created Paprika to fill that need.

Let's see how he deals with this opponent.


	10. Score is Tied

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Score is Tied_

"So it's true… that girl's related to Garlic Junior," Piccolo murmured to himself, drawing Zangya's gaze up to him.

When the Hera glanced across at the Namekian, she saw the stress lines on his face and the beads of sweat dripping down his skin. This was all the sign she needed to know that whoever this young fighter was had the caped warrior on edge. "My hearing's not as good as yours. What's the scoop?"

The former guardian of earth nodded towards the ring, where they saw the two warriors slide into fighting stances and prepare for a second bout. "That girl down there is a Makyan; a member of a race of demons that originated from a planet called the Makyo Star." Turning to the woman standing at the railings, the Namekian's frown deepened. "Years ago, a powerful member of their race named Garlic Junior came to the earth seeking revenge for his father being denied the seat of the guardian's throne and being sealed inside a dimension known as the Dead Zone. However, after gaining immortality and trying to destroy the planet, he was stopped by Gohan when he threw him into the same space his father ended up in. He managed to break free years later, but met the same fate after another attempt to gain control of the planet."

Zangya scoffed, "Heh. He must have been one determined bastard."

"He was one of the most dangerous enemies we ever faced and was one of the closest to ever come to achieving his goals. But working together we were able to stop him and destroyed his home planet and the source of his race's power, the Makyo Star, in the process," Piccolo informed, his glare tightening as he looked upon the white haired girl down below. "When we threw him into that black hole, we thought we'd been rid of him and his kind. However… it seems like there's one out there who still has a part to play in this… an offspring of Garlic Junior we didn't know he had…"

"And it looks like she has a little score to settle with wonder boy," Zangya commented, a frown appearing on her face while she fixed her own glare upon the surprisingly strong girl below. Watching the pair size each other up, the Hera clenched her jaw tightly, "Do you think he'll be able to beat her?"

"I'm not sure," Piccolo murmured, tapping his finger uneasily. "Both times we fought members of the Makyan race they displayed tremendous levels of skill and power. It's been years since we last fought against Garlic Junior and his cronies, and we've all gotten much stronger since then. But this one… she's able to trade blows evenly with Gohan in his base form and is still able to stand."

Zangya chuckled at this, "Well… that's nice and all, but if I'm being completely honest with you green man, that's hardly enough to count as a real threat. All wonder boy has to do is go blonde, kick the shit out of her, and end this match once and for all." Crossing her arms and leaning against the railing, the Hera woman smirked assuredly, "I mean, killing is not allowed, yeah, but I'm sure if he beats her up enough she'll eventually get the picture and throw in the towel. Hell, I doubt he'll even _need_ to go Super Saiyan to knock her ass out of the ring and win."

Despite the girl's confident remarks, Piccolo couldn't help but grit his teeth anxiously. "I wouldn't be so sure about that…"

This comment had Zangya raise an eyebrow at the Namekian curiously.

As the crowd started to clamor once again, waiting patiently for the pair to restart the match, the two young warriors figured they'd been standing around long enough.

Exploding from their spots with a yell of effort and a blast of wind, the pair flew at each other, covering the space of fifteen meters and colliding elbow first with a deafening thunderclap. The shockwave they produced was so great it rocked the entire coliseum to its foundations, scaring the daylights out of the spectators as bolts of lightning shot off of the two fighters. Locked in another heated grappling match, Gohan and Paprika snarled angrily and tried to force the other away. A white aura and electricity crackling off of both of them, the pair summoned all the strength they could muster to try and overcome their equally stubborn foe.

The entire area beginning to tremble under the growing pressure of their exchange, the duo soon grew annoyed at the stalemate and they threw a punch at each other with their free hand. Their fists connecting in the middle, the force of impact was enough to send both blasting backwards. Slamming his feet into the ground first, Gohan dashed after the girl and engaged her in a furious exchange of blows. Flurries of punches flew between them as they fought a running battle across the ring, until another sonic boom rang out that separated them and sent them spinning back through the air.

Flipping repeatedly as they descended, both landed at the exact same time on opposite sides of the ring. The instant they touched base, the two warriors shot into the air and, climbing to about twenty stories, met in the sky above the stadium and once again engaged each other in a vicious exchange of blows. More shockwaves rang out as the pair fought in complete sight of the audience, all of whom gawked in shock at the two youngsters battling it out in midair.

The former competitors of the Junior Division were especially astonished, all of them staring up from the ground at the feuding fighters with their jaws hanging open and eyes bugging out of their sockets.

It soon became apparent to all of them why they'd lost.

The force of all their connecting attacks was enough to cause the ring beneath them to shake and crack.

The announcer, completely overwhelmed by the battle, grinned into his microphone and turned to the silent crowd. _**"WHOA! FEEL THE POWER OF THOSE BLOWS! THEY CAN STOP A FREIGHT TRAIN IN ITS TRACKS! ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?!"**_ It was a question that didn't need to be asked.

He wouldn't be surprised if the entire world was watching at this point.

A fist slamming across her face cocked Paprika's head back and sent blood flying from her mouth. Recovering quickly, the Makyan growled and spun around, instantly retaliating with a hook across Gohan's face that elicited the same result; a splatter of blood and a thunder clap.

Growling, the demi-Saiyan retaliated with a back kick to the girl's face, sending her spinning through the sky. When she started to descend and Gohan was about to give pursuit, she vanished in a blur of movement and reappeared directly behind him, swinging an elbow straight down at him. Gohan vanished as well, causing her to miss and, super-speeding behind her, threw a roundhouse kick. Paprika vanished again, avoiding it easily. The two continued this chain of hit-and-miss attacks throughout the sky above the stadium, both attempting to outflank the other yet failing miserably.

It soon came to a point where Paprika missed with an especially wide hook and ended up with her opponent rushing her from the side. Spinning about to face him, the two powerful warriors once again locked in heated combat, the sound of machinegun fire echoing throughout the arena for a second time while the pair danced across the skies, trading hit after hit, all of which they either dodged or parried.

Displaying sublime fighting skills in a blur of movement none of the audience members could keep up with, the pair eventually vanished and began their exchange in the realm of the speedsters. This engagement only lasted for several seconds before another shockwave hit the stadium, knocking a couple people out of their seats and drawing everyone's gazes to the ring once again. It was there they saw Gohan and Paprika land on opposite sides of the board and rocket towards one another in a blur.

Flying towards one another at full speed, the demi-Saiyan growled and threw a swinging right overhand, only for his fist to pass through an afterimage that prompted him to hit the brakes. Skidding across the ring's surface, Gohan gasped and looked up, where he saw a grinning Paprika swing at him with a hook.

Leaping back at the last second, the boy avoided the blow and back-flipped across the stage. When he stopped he was unable to respond in time when his opponent seemingly teleported behind him and slammed a kick into his back, a blow that sent him flying back the way he came.

Videl, seeing Gohan blow past the edge and towards the dividing wall protecting the audience, the girl stepped forward in alarm, "GOHAN! STOP!"

Clenching his teeth, the boy course-corrected and flipped around, halting his momentum with a quick burst of ki that sent a gust of wind rushing over the stands. Blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth, the demi-Saiyan speedily floated back down to the very edge of the ring and, the instant his foot touched the surface, he launched himself forward, disappearing in a blur of speed.

Paprika, who was in the process of flying after her adversary, gasped in surprise when she saw her opponent vanish. She then received one hell of a wake up call when, out of nowhere, the half-Saiyan crashed into her chest head-first, the blow generating a deafening clap of an artillery cannon that sent her flying across the ring.

Eyes glazed over in shock, Paprika quickly shook herself back into consciousness and flipped back onto her feet. Landing close to the edge, the girl loaded her right hand and, taking aim, threw it forward. With a yell and a howl, she unleashed a pink energy blast that shot across the ring and towards the boy like a missile.

Gohan recoiled at the approaching attack and, reacting instinctively, slammed a foot into the ring and caused an enormous slab of the arena the size of a room-sized boulder to jut out in front of him. The wall sprang up just in time to block the blast that slammed into the barrier. The force behind it was so great that the explosion not only caused the entire area to shake, but it was able to burn and chip away enormous chunks of the concrete in an instant. The audience cried out in shock when the impact of the attack shook the stadium, drawing even more bewildered looks from the bystanders.

Smoke blocking out view of the center of the arena and surrounding Gohan on all sides, the half-Saiyan remained kneeling protectively behind the remains of the earthen barrier he'd erected.

"_This girl…"_ Frowning seriously at the techniques she was displaying, the youngster then looked up with a start and his eyes shot to his right when he sensed her appearance. Preparing to counter, Gohan was about to fire a blast of his own until he saw the cloud break and the girl's weighted scarf burst into view.

Realizing it was a decoy Gohan spun around and threw up a guard, only to receive a killer roundhouse kick in the side of the head that generated a shockwave and slammed him into the wall he'd used to block the last attack. Exploding through the mass of concrete and causing it to shatter into hundreds of pieces, the Saiyan spiraled out of the black cloud and bounced repeatedly across the tiled surface like a ragdoll.

Rolling painfully, the boy then sprang to his feet and slammed them into the floor, sliding to a stop with his hands cocked beside him. Gritting his teeth, Gohan charged a blue globe of energy between his palms before, with a mighty yell, threw his hands forward and unleashed his attack. His _**Kamehameha**_ wave exploded from his hands and shot into the cloud like a missile, parting it instantly.

Spotting the flash of his approaching counter, an alarmed Paprika gasped and sprang into the air, flying straight up as fast as she could and avoiding the blue rocket that curved upwards and shot safely over the spectator's heads. The crowds cried out in terror when the attack came close to wiping them out, but then watched it shoot into the clouds and out of reach.

Seeing his now scarfless opponent continuing to gain altitude, Gohan cocked his right fist back and threw a sharp palm strike. Expelling his ki at the same time, the boy fired a _**Kiai**_ blast that slammed into Paprika head on, drawing a cry of pain from the girl when the attack tore into her body and clothes. The fabric of her gi ripping, the stunned demon was smacked further into the sky, allowing Gohan to leap off of the ground and rocket up at her at full speed.

Still seeing stars, Paprika quickly managed to recover from the attack and look down, where she saw her opponent on fast approach. Growling angrily, she threw both hands forward and attempted to shoot him down with a Kiai of her own. But the boy avoided it by powering up and arcing around her, his form shooting into the clouds above her in the form of a white streak of light.

Charging a pink ball in her left hand, Paprika followed him with her eyes and lobbed a ki blast after him. "ARGH! TAKE THAT!" Her energy attack honed in on the boy's form ascending into the upper atmosphere several kilometers away. But when it seemed like she had him, the demi-Saiyan suddenly appeared in front of her with a flying side kick, which slammed into her chest and sent her spiraling back down towards the arena.

Paprika cried out as she plummeted out of control. But just when it seemed Gohan had her, the girl's form vanished with a crack of wind.

Losing sight of his foe, the demi-Saiyan only had a split second to react when the girl suddenly reappeared directly beneath him and, grabbing his leg on a pass, spun him into an unexpected aerial flip, using the moment of it to throw Gohan towards the ground. Upon chucking him out of the sky, Paprika threw her hand forward and fired a pink blast after him. The attack collided with the boy and knocked him down faster, followed by another. Then, as soon as his body slammed into the center of the ring, a barrage of hundreds of pink energy blasts began raining down on top of the hapless Saiyan and bombarded him mercilessly.

Shouting with every throw, Paprika hurled a continuous stream of energy attacks at the ring, filling its center with explosions that sent a fiery cloud of smoke into the air and blasts of wind across the stands. The audience cried out in terror as the arena was practically firebombed and the half-Saiyan seemingly incinerated in the attack. Piccolo, Zangya and Videl looked on in shock and worry as Gohan was struck down by the rain of death, which lasted for several long seconds before ending with a spectacular finale.

Hercule, who was literally hanging onto the seal of the window, gawked out onto the stage with wide eyes. "Oh no. G-Gohan. How is such a strong kid being beaten down by such a little runt?"

A black mushroom cloud hung above the ring at the end of the assault. With the announcer having to duck and cover at the very edge of the battleground, when he felt the tremors subside, the man immediately took that as his cue to stand and, upon adjusting his glasses, looked into the epicenter of the disaster zone.

"_**Wow. What an attack. A rain of energy from above has knocked tournament favorite Gohan out of the air and turned the entire center of the ring into a smoking crater! Is our gutsy young fighter down for the count?!"**_ When he saw the smoke eventually lift from the hole, the man peered across to see if there was a body. However, after analyzing the ruined patch of space, the announcer gasped in shock when he saw nothing. _**"H-He's gone folks! Gohan is nowhere to be seen!"**_

"What?!" Paprika shouted, gritting her teeth and looking around at the four corners of the field from above. "Damn it! Him and his stupid disappearing acts! Where the hell did that scumbag go this time?!"

Then, like an echo on the wind, the girl's eyes widened in surprise when she heard the sound of a fast approaching, familiar yell.

"GeronimooooOOOOOOOOO!"

The Makyan turned, "Wha-" _**BAM!**_

With a deafening thunderclap, Paprika was unexpectedly hit from behind by her opponent diving down at her feet first and slamming a double kick into the side of her face. The impact of the blow not only rocked the entire stadium with an earthshaking tremor, but the attack managed to knock the girl clear out of the sky and slammed her straight into the corner of the arena.

The entire quarter of the tiled ring exploded in a shower of dust and debris, which pelted the audience and drew a cry of terror from everyone in that general direction. When the cloud eventually faded seconds later, it revealed an enormous, disheveled crater where a major portion of the concrete used to be.

Smiling at his success, a badly bruised and slightly singed Gohan dropped down from the sky and landed on what he called 'his' side of the ring. Assuming a proper standing position, he watched and waited for the air to clear, the audience and the announcer also turning to see what'd happened.

"YES!" Videl cheered, completely thrilled by his brilliant maneuver. "Well done!"

"That's it. Use your training, Gohan," Piccolo murmured with a smile on his face as he and Zangya continued to watch closely from above.

After a few seconds of waiting with no sign of his opponent, Gohan and the audience began to believe that Paprika had been knocked out. However, when everyone felt a tremor work its way up from the crater, the announcer and the young Saiyan quickly realized that she was still alive and well. A few seconds of waiting later, the crowd then saw the crater explode and from the debris, the Makyan's shadow reemerged.

The announcer grinned with delight. _**"Incredible! After a wicked hit that buried her inside the ring's corner, Paprika is back on her feet and ready for more!"**_

Floating out of the hole, the demon girl landed directly across from her opponent on her side of the board. Her clothes torn up with more bruises covering her body, the Makyan spat the blood out of her mouth and glared across at her equally damaged foe.

"I hate you."

Gohan smiled, "Ah, don't be like that. I'm sure you'll grow to like me sooner or later."

"This may come as a shock to you, but I didn't come here to make friends," Paprika responded sharply, her frown deepening as she reached up to clean the blood trickling down from her mouth. It was a gesture that was copied by her opponent. "I came here to wipe the floor with you and make you pay for what you did to me. A killer like you doesn't deserve the mercy of appropriate social etiquette."

The demi-Saiyan frowned at her response, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened to your father and your planet. But he left me no other choice. It was either beat him or watch him suck the entire earth into the Dead Zone. If you were in my shoes, struggling to hold onto the ground and protect your friends, you would have done the exact same thing that I did."

Snarling at the boy's reasoning, the girl clenched her fists tightly and snapped, "Don't lecture me on perspectives, you retch! I wasn't the one that condemned a father and wiped an entire race of people from existence. You were!" Her angry retort had Gohan flinch at the pain he could sense in Paprika's words. "It's useless to get me to see your point of view. My father and my home are gone… and there isn't a damn thing I can do to get them back. The only thing that's left for me in their place is misery… and the only way I'll be able to get rid of it is to make the one who ruined my life suffer for all the pain that he's caused me."

As Gohan listened to the girl's angry tirade, the stadium remained silent as the announcer and the audience also lent an ear to the pair's conversation. While all those closest to their level could definitely hear the girl's shouts and statements, all of Paprika's hurt and frustrations were being directed to one person and one person only; and that was her opponent.

Remaining as he was, the demi-Saiyan allowed the girl to get all the words she had off her chest.

"_You_ were the one that destroyed my home planet!" the Makyan girl snapped fiercely. "YOU were the one that murdered my father and left me all alone in the wilderness! You have no idea what it's like to be stranded out in the cold with nothing and nobody to return to! You have no idea what it's like to lose your family!"

This part had the half-Saiyan flinch. His hand clenching and unclenching momentarily, the spiky haired warrior then looked across at the girl with sadness reflected in his eyes. "You're half right. I don't know what it's like to lose my home." When he saw the girl narrow her glare, Gohan looked up at her and continued. "But I do know what it's like to lose someone you care about and to be left out in the cold… and I know what it's like to lose a family member… especially a father." These words brought a tinge of pain to the boy's own heart and had him wince on the inside.

Hearing the boy's response to her outburst, Paprika remained as she was, quiet and motionless. Eventually, after processing her opponent's own heartfelt statements and seeing the sadness reflected on his face, the girl tightened her fist again and shook her head, "Then you should know why I have to do this."

Swallowing, Gohan nodded, "Yes." He then gave her a serious look. "Do you want to dispense of the rules and try to kill each other?"

"No. I'm not going to kill you," Paprika replied, her anger still burning strongly as a current of red electricity shot up her arm. "If I did, then that would make me even worse than you; a person lower than the scum in the gutter. Besides…" The corner of her mouth twitched into a smile, "It would be a lot more satisfying to beat you within the rules. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to hurt you… and what better place to do that than on a stage like this?" She gestured grandly to their already half destroyed arena. "I'm going to beat you in front of all these people and burn you for all the crimes you've committed."

Gohan frowned at her declaration, "Sorry to disappoint you, Paprika, but at the rate this fight is going the only way you're ever going to beat me is to knock me out… and I'm not even fighting at half my real power yet. If this is all that you have to show me, then this match is as good as over."

It was these words that brought an even wider smirk to the girl's face. "I agree. This match _is_ as good as over… for _you_ anyway." Her response prompting the boy to raise his eyebrow, Paprika then flicked her hair back and raised her hand. "Did you honestly think that I would face you in battle without some sort of plan? You see, I have a little trick up my sleeve that you may be quite familiar with. After you destroyed my home planet and scattered its debris on the wind, I was able to collect several of the fragments that managed to survive and fused them with my body." This reveal immediately had Gohan look up with a start and watch as a feral grin slowly pulled across Paprika's face.

The expression she took on was one that was both menacing and intimidating, and sent a chill down everyone's spines.

"The radiation from the Makyo Star's soil stimulates the cells inside of its natives and increases our energy output several times over. That means, with the planet's rock imbedded in my system and combined with my energy, I'm able to do something like _**this**_!" Her body tensing up, Paprika tightened fists and gritted her teeth, a loud snarl escaping her lips as she began to focus her energy.

A red glow starting to radiate off of her body like fire, Gohan narrowed his eyes and watched closely as Paprika went through the most unusual power up. Her energy levels fluctuating and veins starting to pulse around her forehead, the ground began to tremble and the air started to grow heavy with a growing physical presence.

Then, only three seconds after Paprika began focusing her ki, the Makyan child then experienced a sudden and startling transformation. In the blink of an eye, the girl's mass and size increased drastically, her height shooting up to that of Piccolo's, her muscles bulking, and her entire body taking on a more shapely, womanly form. To top it off, Paprika's sickly green skin darkened to a forest shade, her white hair elongated and, with her sudden increase in size, her clothes exploded off of her body, shredding into pieces and leaving the girl in nothing but her shoes, a black sports bra, and white underwear.

To put it into perspective, the Makyan girl went from petite, Videl stature to fucking She-Hulk in appearance in less than half a second.

While the announcer freaked out at the girl's sudden transformation and the audience gawked in shock, Piccolo, Zangya, Videl and Gohan's eyes widened in horror when they sensed the girl's ki skyrocket to an unprecedented level.

"What the shit?!" the Hera shouted.

Gasping, Gohan had absolutely no time to react when he saw the enormous Paprika appear directly in front of him and nail him across the face with a hook. The blow connecting with a clap of a shockwave, the half-Saiyan could only yell in shock as he was sent spinning across the ring and towards the edge, almost blacking out from the force of the hit.

Just before he could try and correct himself, his opponent once again vanished in a crack of wind and reappeared in his path. It was here Paprika swayed backwards so she was floating horizontal to the ground and threw a kick straight up into the approaching Gohan's stomach. The blow struck with a deafening 'crack' and sent the hapless half-Saiyan spiraling skywards, a yell escaping his lips as he climbed altitude at breakneck speeds.

Several seconds into his flight, before he could regain any form of bearing, the boy was then suddenly stopped dead when his opponent shot up after him in a blur of movement and slammed a knee into his stomach. The sudden, violent blow generated a shockwave that dispersed the clouds around them and had Gohan spit up blood. A grinning Paprika then allowed the boy to remain doubled over her leg before, lacing her hands above her head, the Makyan dropped a hammer blow into his back and sent him plummeting back towards the ring.

As Gohan spiraled in his descent, Paprika effortlessly held her right hand out and, with a smirk, launched her follow-up attack. _**"Pepper Shot!"**_ A flash of pink light followed by a continuous barrage of energy blasts rocketed from her hand and towards the falling warrior.

The stream of attacks collided with the demi-Saiyan in midair, bombarding him and sending him rocketing towards the ring at a much faster rate. A split second later, Gohan and the barrage of energy beams collided with the ring, causing a series of concussive explosions that shook the arena and scared the hell out of the audience.

The announcer and the Junior Division competitors standing on the lawn literally dove for cover as the ring was ravaged by the rain of energy attacks.

The cloud of dust that filled the air pelted the audience with debris and prompted a closely watching Videl to rush forward in shock. "No! Gohan!"

Watching her blasts nearly rip the ring to pieces with little to no effort, Paprika, still holding her position high up in the sky, smirked triumphantly as the smoke slowly started to lift.

"You poor fool. With the power I possess, you don't stand a chance against me. By absorbing the remains of the Makyo Star into my body, I've not only increased the regenerative capabilities of my muscles, I've probably become the most powerful force in this entire quadrant," Paprika stated in a now deeper tone of voice, her eyes narrowing when she saw a crater in the center of the ring emerge from the smoke. "I have the sum total of my entire race's strength coursing through my veins. There's not a single being alive that can stop me… not even _you_."

The moment she said this, the center of the hole exploded in a shower of debris and, from the rubble, Gohan reemerged. With his gi in tatters, and bruises and burns covering his entire body, the spiky haired Saiyan panted heavily and glared up at the girl hovering in the sky overhead. Seeing her form like a big, green beacon against the clear blue canvas, the young warrior growled through bloody teeth while the audience up in the stands watched on in dead silence to see what the young fighter was going to do next.

Whatever had happened just then, it was clear he'd taken a massive amount of damage in that attack.

Paprika chuckled in amusement, "Stay down you weakling. It's useless to try and fight me."

Spitting to the side and straightening up, Gohan clenched his fists, "We'll see!" Then, with a yell of rage and effort, the boy powered up to his maximum, his blue aura exploding around him and his hair blasting upwards on the wind. It was a sight that stunned the crowd, awed the announcer and brought a grin to Videl's face, who watched closely as her friend started to get serious.

Aura burning brilliantly, the young demi-Saiyan exploded from the ring and rocketed up into the sky towards his opponent in a streak of blazing blue light. Reaching her in under a second he swung out, only for Paprika to vanish in a blur. Passing her, Gohan came to a stop and, his aura flaring up a second time, he changed directions and shot back down towards ground level.

Managing to avoid his first attack, Paprika tucked and began to roll as she fell, a split second before vanishing a second time when the powered up Saiyan came down from above with another swing. Missing her, Gohan growled and shot after her across the sky. The Makyan reappeared out of her high speed movement traveling backwards, teeth gritted as she watched her opponent's ethereal form rocket towards her and swing at her with a roundhouse kick. In another blur she flew up into the clouds and avoided his attack, causing Gohan to miss and chase after her once again.

A trail of blue energy marked the path of the Saiyan as the raven haired warrior pursued Paprika through the atmosphere. Crisscrossing back and forth, he attempted to catch the demon when she passed him again, only to end up chasing after her once more. Flying back over the stadium where the audience could see them, Gohan attempted to run her down, only to see her vanish and blindside him with a swift shoulder tackle that sent him spiraling to the side.

While he was spinning out of control, Paprika intercepted the young half-Saiyan and dropped a kick on him from above, slamming him in the back and sending him plummeting towards the arena far below. Seconds later, before the winded boy could impact the ring's surface, the Makyan girl instantly teleported beneath him and caught him with a knee to the stomach. As soon as the boy's momentum stopped and he was doubled over her leg, the girl brought both her hands up and smashed them into his back. Gohan slammed into the ring's floor, his head bounding off of its hard surface, stunning him, before a foot smashed it back into the concrete.

After only a few seconds of fighting, the boy once again found himself at the mercy of his opponent.

Paprika smirked as she felt the boy squirm uselessly under her heel. "What's the matter, scum? Can't get up?" Hearing him growl in response, the Makyan girl chuckled. "Come on. I know this isn't the best you can do. Get angry. Show me your _real_ power! I want to fight you and beat you down at your strongest!" When the still base form Gohan attempted to push up again, the girl ground her foot into his head and shoved him back down with a loud crunching sound. Receiving no words in response, she frowned deeply. "FINE! Have it your way!"

Before the announcer even had a chance to start a count, Paprika stepped off of Gohan, charged up an attack and, holding her left hand up, began firing blasts directly into his back. _**"Meatball Shooter!"**_ A stream of rapid fire energy shots left her hand and began slamming into the boy's back over and over again. The amount of blasts she unleashed tore up the ground around the demi-Saiyan and ripped into his back, cries and screams of agony leaving Gohan's lips when he was hit at pointblank range by the assault. His entire upper body was hammered into submission.

A feral grin of excitement pulled over Paprika's face as she gleefully roasted the youngster beneath her.

The audience could only watch in shock as the girl laid out the young fighter with ease, a smile ever-present while she hit him again and again until the floor directly in front of her had turned into a blazing pink inferno. Piccolo and Zangya glared down at the ring nervously, the former uncrossing his arms and preparing to jump in, and Videl had her hands clapped over her mouth in horror.

After several more seconds of continuous shooting, Paprika stopped, allowing the flames from her attack to fade and reveal to everyone there what had happened to their favorite young fighter. When the smoke lifted, they saw the still intact Gohan lying beneath her feet, his shirts incinerated and his entire upper body battered and burnt. The sound of his heavy breathing and the sight of his agonized face had the Makyan leer in satisfaction.

"How does it feel, Gohan? How does it feel to be the victim, to be the helpless one… to have your face buried in the ground and to have no one here to help you? Does it hurt?" The girl spat and, kicking him in the side, rolled him onto his back and elicited a yelp of pain from him. "I bet it does. So how about we continue this little game? I've got a lot more frustration to take out on you… and I'm not going to stop until I hear you beg for my forgiveness." She then held her hand up and began charging yet another energy attack. "Now… BURN YOU MURDERER!"

At that exact moment, Gohan's eyes flew open and, with a yell of rage and a flash of teal, he sprang up from the ground and nailed Paprika directly in the nose. The force and speed of the punch practically caved the girl's face in before sending her flying through the air and bouncing across the ring. When she eventually rolled to a stop a second later, the girl grabbed her face with both hands and yelled out in agony.

"GAAAAAHHH! FUCK!" Gasping in shock, Paprika slowly stood back up and looked across the arena floor. When she did, she saw her now standing opponent become engulfed in a golden aura before a brilliant flash of light engulfed the entire stadium.

Blinded by the flare and deafened by the immense howl that came with it, Paprika only had to wait a couple of seconds before the anomaly died down. When she looked back, her visage twisted into one of shock when she saw her opponent standing there, bathed in a golden glow, his eyes teal and his once night black hair turned a shining blonde.

While Hercule and the rest of the stadium gawked at the boy's transformation to his first level of Super Saiyan, Videl was overcome with joy, her eyes sparkling just as brightly at the young male's ethereal form.

"Yes!"

"Have you calmed down?" Allowing the shock to settle in and seeing the girl take a step back, the shirtless Gohan cracked his neck and smirked, "Good. Now we can do this properly. You want a fight that badly, Paprika? Well… you've got one."

Shivering at the amount of power she could now feel coming off of the boy, Paprika grinned and clenched her fists. "Finally. This is exactly what I was waiting for… Mr. Super Saiyan." With a growl of effort, a red aura exploded off of her body and engulfed her in the same manner the boy had emitted his cloak of energy. The earth trembling at the amount of power both fighters were generating together, the Makyan, now at full power, then took a fighting stance and shouted, "Let's do this! Bring it on!"

His fists tightening even more as he gauged his adversary's power increase, the hybrid Saiyan's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "You asked for it." Gritting his teeth, the transformed Gohan then exploded from his spot and charged at the girl in the form of a golden flash, crashing into her head on and elbow first.

Paprika threw her arms up in time to block the blow the youngster tackled her with. However, just as she was leaning back from the force of the impact, she suddenly saw his afterimage pass directly through her, causing her to blink in shock. A split second later, Gohan's faded form solidified directly behind her and, reversing directions, elbowed her in the back. The unexpected attack knocked the girl off her feet and sent her flying forward.

Managing to gain control of her flight, the stunned girl spun into a flip, rotated around and landed deftly. Throwing her hand back, Paprika gave a loud growl before, throwing it forward, unleashed a blinding white blast from her hand that rocketed towards the Super Saiyan standing directly in her line of sight. _**"WONTON BLASTER!" **_With a mighty howl the attack rocketed towards the boy at light speed, only for the golden warrior to vanish before the beam struck that side of the ring and completely disintegrated the edge in a catastrophic explosion.

When the audience was pelted by dust and debris, Paprika's eyes snapped behind her, where she saw her opponent reappear.

Clenching his jaw tightly as he watched the demon curl her fists and take a stance as well, Gohan then brought his guard up to his sides and dashed forward. Rushing at her in a blur of movement, as soon as he was in range he cranked his right fist back, gave a mighty yell and, taking aim, drove his fist into her chest. Paprika's forearm flew up to block the hit and, as soon as the earsplitting shockwave rang out and rocked the entire stadium to its foundations, the pair began to fight.

Gohan's fists flew at Paprika in blurs, slamming into her arms again and again as they shot up to intercept his attacks. Continuous shockwaves exploded off of them as they boxed it out in the middle of the arena. With every hit generating a violent tremor, the demi-Saiyan continued attacking her with reckless abandon until Paprika pulled her fist back and slammed a punch into his face. The boy took the blow, his head cocking to the side. But even as her knuckles buried into his cheek, the young Super Saiyan only growled against it and violently shoved it away with a quick shake of his head.

Eyes widening in alarm, the girl threw a hand up to block a swinging left punch, only to then see the Super Saiyan leap up and drive a knee into the side of her head. The blow impacted with a thunderclap, knocking the girl to the side with her eyes glazed over. Before she could fall, Paprika recovered quickly and threw up another guard, only to then receive a palm strike to the cheek.

The hits landing with deafening thuds, Gohan then brought both his fists up and, with a yell, drove a hammer blow into his opponent's back. The girl crumpled from the attack, but as soon as his fists lifted free, Paprika retaliated with a vicious flurry of attacks. In the blink of an eye, both Super Saiyan and Super Makyan began pummeling each other with lightning fast blows, thunderclaps ringing out at a machinegun rate while they fought across the decimated arena.

With every blow that connected the stadium shook and as the spectators held on for dear life, the announcer stood beside the ruined court in awe. _**"This fight just got real, ladies and gentlemen! Right now, both Gohan and Paprika are giving each other everything they've got! Their punches are so strong; every single blow they land is causing the heavens themselves to shake! WHAT A MATCH!"**_

Crying out furiously with every attack they threw, both opponents continued to lay it on the other as they moved across the concrete floor. Avoiding as many of his adversary's blows as he could, Gohan cranked his left fist back and threw a straight, only to have the girl parry it and retaliate with another furious onslaught. The dance continued, and as the damage to the ring started to mount, so did the damage on both fighters as they began landing more and more devastating blows on each other.

Zangya, gripping the walkway's railing so tightly that the metal was starting to bend, gawked at the sight below. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Unreal…"

The Namekian's expression reflected equal surprise. "Yes. I see." Upon uttering these words, his expression then became one of seriousness as he scrutinized the boy's opponent more carefully. _"Her power level is almost exactly the same as Cell's maximum when he fought against Gohan after he became an Ascended Saiyan for the first time. No wonder she's putting up such a good fight."_

"How the heck can someone trade blows with wonder boy like that?" There were very few out there that could actually trade blows with the young Super Saiyan, but this girl was managing to give even the youngster a hard time. However, the sight of it brought an amused smirk to Zangya's face. "Heh. He must be loving every second of it."

Slamming their elbows into each other and generating an electric shockwave that sparked off of them, both Gohan and Paprika sprang away from each other and landed on opposite sides of the stage. Upon touching down, the pair took defensive stances, with the Makyan blasting forward and rocketing towards her foe without hesitation. In a blur, she slammed a hook across his face with a thunderclap, only to receive an uppercut in return.

Back flipping away, Gohan landed on the very edge of the crumbling arena and flew forward, meeting his staggered foe in the center and once again locking in another heated exchange. Punches and kicks flying, flashes of light bounced off of the two fighters as their blows impacted one after the other. Then, after a full minute of merciless pummeling, the pair ended it with a right punch that crashed into the other's face and sent them flying back.

Trailing blood, the pair slammed their feet into the ground and skidded to a stop. As soon as the brakes were applied, the pair sprang into the air and, charging at each other, vanished in the blink of an eye.

All of a sudden, the sky was filled with a series of invisible explosions, shockwaves bursting all around like fireworks. The force of each blast causing the entire island to shake, the two super powered warriors began fighting each other at a speed neither member of the audience could keep up with. Even Piccolo and Zangya had lost complete track of the pair as they looked up towards the sky and saw their blurred forms darting through the clouds in all directions.

The sounds of more thunderclaps ringing out and drawing cries from the already terrified audience, the exchange lasted for well over a few minutes. But then, as actual explosions began ripping throughout the space above the stadium and the sight of ki blasts began streaking across the blue canvas, a final shockwave, much larger than any of the ones before, rippled across the island and nearly split the land in two. The force of it was so violent that the coliseum and the surrounding buildings cracked and crumbled.

Upon bracing themselves against the blast, Piccolo, Zangya and Videl looked up to see Gohan plummeting from the sky and being chased by the red blur of his opponent. However, just when it seemed like the boy was going to hit the ground, he suddenly vanished into thin air and blindsided his pursuing foe with a kick that sent her spinning through the air. After several hundred meters of flight, the Super Saiyan intercepted her and, with a well-timed follow up, kicked her out of the sky and sent her rocketing towards the ring.

The girl struck another corner and blasted it into rubble, sending dust and debris flying into the air. When the tremors from the impact died, the audience looked up once more, wondering whether or not one of them had finally been knocked out for good. Even Videl swallowed heavily as she nervously eyed the crater the teen had landed.

However, after a couple seconds of waiting, the rubble suddenly exploded outwards and Paprika emerged with a scream of rage. Bringing her fists down to her sides, the badly bruised and bleeding girl snarled angrily and glared up at the sky.

"_Dargh… no!"_ Her opponent was gaining the upper hand. She couldn't let that happen!

Spotting her adversary landing on the other side of the arena, she then saw him rocket towards her in a golden flash. Cranking her fist back, Paprika attempted to hook him, "WRETCHED LITTLE-" Her punch missed though when Gohan, quick as ever, sprang over her and, landing behind her, slammed a kick into her back and sent her blasting across the arena with a shout of pain.

Quickly flipping forward and recovering with a swift landing, the Makyan spun around and shot back at her foe, a bellow of rage escaping her lips as she cocked her left fist over her shoulder. Her arm shone a hot pink as she prepared to deliver a power blow to knock the bastard out. But the second she came within range and threw it, Gohan managed to duck under her swing and deliver a powerful uppercut into her stomach, burying his knuckles into her rock hard abs.

The pair remained like that, glaring fiercely at one another with strangled groans escaping Paprika's teeth and a growl leaving Gohan's, his expression tightened into one of blind fury. Upon holding their positions for several full seconds, the motionless audience then saw the Makyan girl stumble away, her body hunching over and both hands moving to grip her gut.

Mouth agape, the girl choked up blood that dribbled onto the floor from her lips, at the same time her opponent pulled his fist back and panted exhaustedly. The fight so far had dealt both of them a great deal of damage, as the two of them were covered in intense burns and bruises. They were also bleeding profusely from over a dozen open wounds.

Clenching her jaw, Paprika glared hatefully at her battered foe. _"How the hell is this happening?!"_ Sucking it in, the girl shot up and took a shaky fighting stance. As soon as she did, she blasted forward and threw a punch, only to have it caught in the firm grip of her opponent.

Fist trapped, she threw another one, only to have that fist caught as well.

Locking them in stalemate, Gohan yelled out in rage and tightened his grip on the Makyan's fists. The sounds of bones creaking and muscles popping ringing out like they were being amplified, the audience gave a collective wince when they heard a cry of agony escape Paprika's lips and watched as she tried to pull her fists free. However, no matter how far she leaned away, the boy refused to let her go and increased the pressure.

A growl escaped Gohan's lips when he tightened his vice-like grip even more and Paprika gave another cry of agony, her fists starting to break.

Not wanting to lose out, the Makyan acted instinctively and threw a kick up into the boy's chin, smacking his head upwards. The moment the demi-Saiyan's head was cocked back, the girl looped her legs around his arms and yanked her fists free, before bringing herself up and preparing to drive a blow down onto his head.

As soon as she threw it, Gohan leapt up at her and rammed his forehead into her face, knocking the girl off of him and sending her crashing to the floor. What soon followed could only be described as the most vicious beat down the stadium had ever seen, as the Super Saiyan mercilessly picked the girl up and pile-drove her into the floor with a deafening crack. The girl retaliated by slamming a kick into his stomach, only to receive an elbow to the face in a counter that had her stumbling across the ring. Gohan sprinted after her and nailed her with a hook, only to then get kneed in the face and sent staggering backwards.

Rushing him, Paprika then prepared for an elbow, only to get kicked in the side and knocked off her feet. As soon as she was in the air, Gohan charged after her falling body and kneed it in the ribs, slamming a hook into her face and then a kick that sent her flying upwards. But then, just as the Makyan was gaining altitude, the boy blasted off of the ground and intercepted her in the sky.

Without thought or hesitation, the boy tackled her in the back and sent both of them plummeting to the ring once more. A cry of terror left Paprika's lips before she was smashed stomach first into the edge of the ring and had Gohan's knee drive into her back. The force of impact shattered the stone and had the girl choke up blood.

After crash landing on top of the Makyan, the half-Saiyan stumbled away and prepared to fire a blast. But just before he could hit her, Paprika leapt off of the ground and hooked him across the face. The blow landed with terrific force and sent the boy packing, but before he could fly out of reach Gohan managed to land a hook of his own, which connected with a thunderclap.

Trailing spit, both fighters skidded across the ruined surface of the arena to a grinding halt. As soon as their momentums ceased, they then glared across at one another.

The stadium then fell into a deathly silence when the two fighters fixed their hardest glares on the other. With ragged breaths leaving their bodies and sweat dripping from their pores, Gohan and Paprika held their stances, waiting to see who would break first.

It was then the Super Saiyan saw Paprika stumble forward with a gasp and collapse to her knee, an action that was marked by a thump when she hit the hard floor.

The announcer, seeing the girl crumble under the pressure, yelled into his microphone. _**"It looks like the damage has finally gotten to Paprika! Could this be the end?!"**_

"No," the Makyan hissed, looking to see the equally beaten Gohan stagger backwards as well, but manage to hold his footing. "No! I can't let this end. Not yet. Not here!" Despite the number of hits they'd landed on each other, she was the one that was losing out in their battle.

This was something she wasn't going to let stand.

"NO WAY! I will not be beaten by this low class retch! I won't lose…" Snarling through her fangs, the girl shakily forced herself back to her feet and, clenching her fists tightly, she threw her head back and cried out to the heavens. "I WON'T LOSE!" A howl then followed as her red aura blasted off of her in an inferno, pelting the young Super Saiyan with debris and sending a gust of wind across the stands. When the spectators were knocked out of their seats and the announcer ducked behind the ring, the entire island shook when Paprika summoned whatever amount of power she had left.

With Gohan holding his ground as best as he could, the beaten and bruised Saiyan looked across in surprise as he sensed the girl's energy levels climbing higher and higher. "W-What…?"

"I'M ENDING THIS FIGHT RIGHT NOW! NO MORE TRICKS! NO MORE RESTRAINTS!" With veins pulsing all over her body, including her eyes, the green skinned fighter crouched low to the ground and took aim with her hand. Holding it out so that all the fingers were extended, white and pink energy began gathering around her palm, forming a shining ball of death that began to pulse and shimmer.

Gohan's eyes widened at the sight, "Oh, crap." His gaze shot behind him, where he saw the stands of people sitting and watching the events unfolding on the ring. Upon which he spun back around and glared across at Paprika, whose entire form was starting to flicker like a red strobe as she continued charging her next attack. _"She's blinded with rage. Shit! If she fires it from that position…"_

There was a good chance that in her anger… if she missed, she was going to wipe out a great portion of the stadium as well as an entire chunk of the island.

Her form glowing brilliantly like a star in the center of their field, Paprika took aim at her target. Completely unaware of the people sitting in the stands around her, a feral grin formed across her face as her anger and frustration took over, "TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARD! _**PAN BLASTER!**_" The girl then launched her attack…

The moment she did however, Gohan shot towards his opponent faster than she could react and, with a yell of his own, knocked Paprika's arm skywards, stunning her. With a crack of thunder and a flash of blinding light, a stream of pink energy exploded from her palm like a missile. The sheer force of the blast generated a sonic boom strong enough to crack the floor beneath them and shake the foundations of the entire arena. In that same instant, a beam of energy the size of a comet rocketed into the skies, parting the clouds and leaving the earth's atmosphere altogether, the sight of which caused all of the spectators to cry out in terror.

While the audience took cover, Piccolo, Zangya and Videl all gawked, as the amount of energy that had been put into that attack would've been enough to wipe out the entire planet.

When the stream of ki eventually faded and normal light returned to the stadium floor, Gohan immediately followed up on his quick maneuver by cranking back his right hand and forming a fist. The sight of his action had alarm bells go off in Paprika's head, the Makyan swaying back at the last second to avoid a powerful uppercut aimed for her head. Throwing herself away from her opponent, the demon performed a back flip and landed close to the edge of the ring. She then only had a split second to spring off of the ground and fly into the air to avoid a follow-up blow from the charging Saiyan, who then spun around and pursued her with his gaze.

Shooting into the clouds in a streak of red light, Paprika gritted her teeth and, upon reaching several kilometers up, glared back down at the arena. "Damn you!" Determined to finish the fight, she slowed her flight and prepared to launch one last attack.

However, the second she hit the brakes, Gohan's hand was already cranked back and thrown forward, which then unleashed a blast of brilliant blue energy. _**"FLASH MADAN!"**_ In a mighty gust of wind, the enormous attack shot into the sky in pursuit of the Makyan, who recoiled in shock at the size of the attack now hurtling towards her.

Gritting her teeth, she brought both hands above her head and took aim. "Fine! I'm going to-" Unfortunately Paprika didn't have time to finish her retort, because the second she began to prepare her counter, she sensed a ki signature appear directly behind her and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Gohan, who was supposed to be on the ground firing the attack, super speed into view and begin diving towards her. "WHAT?! How in the-"

With a deafening 'crack' and a mighty battle cry, Gohan tackled the girl in the spine and knocked her out of the sky at blinding speed. Powering up, with his hands gripping the hapless Makyan's sides, the demi-Saiyan then held the transformed girl upside-down above his head and dove towards his approaching energy blast with the intent to pile drive her into it.

Noticing they were on a collision course with his _**Flash Madan**_ blast, Paprika's eyes turned white and her mouth flew open in a terrified, bloodcurdling scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

A split second later, the stadium was filled with the tremendous sound of a colossal explosion and a flash of blinding light when the pair crashed headlong into the attack, blue fire rippling out in all directions and causing the entire island to shake. While the audience braced themselves against the gales of wind, Piccolo, Zangya and Videl were able to watch as a body flew out the bottom end of the fireball in the opposite direction the blast had traveled, and collided with the grass outside the crumbling ring. The fighter's impact with the ground was marked by an explosion of dust and debris, which sent a thick cloud over the stands and had the people in the front rows coughing and sputtering.

When the frazzled and shaken spectators finally recovered from the madness of the fight and the sky finally cleared of smoke, they all looked towards the crater where the body had impacted. There, lying sprawled out in the center, they saw Paprika, reverted back to her base form, battered, burnt, bruised, and bleeding from a new series of cuts, lying sprawled out in the center of it.

Rushing over to her, the announcer checked for a pulse. Taking her by the shoulder and giving the green girl a light shake afterwards, the man in the shades sighed in relief and stood up. Clearing his throat and using a cloth to wipe off his dust covered sunglasses, the announcer turned to the audience and made the call, _**"That's it folks! The winner by ring out and knock out of the second to last match of the tournament is Son Gohan!"**_ The man exclaimed, throwing a hand towards the ring as the Super Saiyan, unscathed from the explosion, dropped down from the sky and landed in the center.

Reverting back to his base form with a sigh, there was a long moment of silence in which the audience spent trying to get over the unbelievable battle that they'd just witnessed. After a full minute ticked by, the crowds of shaken civilians soon recovered from their stunned reveries and rewarded Gohan with a loud cheer and a round of applause. The shirtless demi-Saiyan made certain to bow in gratitude to his legions of fans, before then jogging over to check on the defeated Makyan.

"_**Congratulations Son Gohan. You've made it to the finals. We will now have a short break to clear up the ring and provide first aid for our contestants,"**_ the announcer said, watching as the clearly battered half-Saiyan hopped down from the stage and approached the crater where the unconscious Paprika was lying. The blonde adult made room for Gohan as he stepped up to check on the girl himself, earning a concerned look from the experienced referee. "How are you doing, big guy? Do you need to see a doctor? You took quite a beating out there."

"Nah. Compared to her these are just scrapes. I'll live," Gohan replied, glancing to the side when he sensed Videl rushing over from her spot on the other side of the lawn.

The moment she skidded to a stop alongside him and the tournament official, Piccolo and Zangya also dropped down from the sky, a sight that immediately drew the crowd's attention.

First the two kids were fighting and flying, and now they were being joined by two others who could as well. Just what the heck was going on today?

"Gohan! Are you alright?" Videl asked, hand on her chest as she gazed across at her friend in worry. "Are you hurt?"

The spiky haired half-Saiyan grinned and shook his head, "No. Just some bad bruises and cuts. Nothing a quick visit to Dende's can't fix."

"I'll say," Piccolo spoke, the towering Namekian looking down at his student seriously.

"You look even worse than you did after your fight with that Kana chick," Zangya remarked, placing her hands on her hips and looking at the boy in amusement. "Damn, wonder boy. Do you get your jollies from having your ass kicked around the countryside or what? There's no shame in admitting it."

Gohan chuckled and massaged the back of his head, at the same time stepping away when two orderlies came around with a stretcher, "What can I say? She was a really tough opponent. I had no idea I was going to end up fighting somebody like her in the tournament, much less the Junior Division." He then turned to look down at the girl as she was attended to by the newly arrived officials. "To be honest, she took me completely by surprise when she transformed."

If he had to make an educated guess, he estimated that Paprika was just as strong if not even stronger than Cell had been before he came back. All things considered, if he hadn't taken advantage of her lapse in attention, then the fight would have dragged on even longer than it had and more damage would have been done to the surrounding island. Heaven knows what would have happened if he'd held back with that last hit. The girl probably would have ended up in a far worse a state than she was now.

Piccolo, giving an understanding nod, stepped up to his student and patted him on the shoulder. "You did really well today kid. Good fight."

"Thanks, Piccolo," Gohan replied, at the same time looking down and receiving a warm smile from Videl. After returning it and feeling the girl fondly clasp at his hand, the group then turned when they sensed the orderlies preparing to move the unconscious Paprika.

As they were shuffling to her sides to hoist her onto the stretcher, everyone there got quite a start when the girl's eyes suddenly shot open and the Makyan bolted upright. The officials freaked out and backpedaled, whereas the Z-fighters remained in place, staring down at her in surprise. Watching the demon girl glance between them in wild paranoia, they then saw her eyes fix upon Gohan, drawing a surprised blink from the youngster.

Upon realizing where she was and exactly who was surrounding her, Paprika's expression became deathly serious and the Makyan girl stood where she'd fallen, gripping her shoulder at the same time. Despite being beaten to the point that she was in no condition to fight back, the group of people surrounding her still regarded her with caution, including Gohan who fixed his foe with a serious gaze.

Paprika's eyes filled with anger and frustration as she stared at the equally beaten half-Saiyan who'd knocked her out of the ring. When it looked as though she was about to lash out, she then cringed and looked away with a huff. "Why don't you just finish me off?"

Feeling Videl's grip tighten around his hand nervously, the young Gohan gave her a small smile, "Simple. I don't want to."

"Why?" the demon girl growled, turning on him with a fierce look on her face. "You didn't have any problems with doing that against my father. With that last attack, I could have destroyed this entire area just to try and take you out. So why not kill me?"

A serious look coming to his face, the demi-Saiyan frowned deeply, "Because… if I killed you… I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I took the life of someone who didn't deserve it." Gohan placed his hands on his hips and regarded the girl with nothing but his full and undivided attention. "I can see the grief on your face. You fight and suffer because you lost your family… and I know what it's like to experience that kind of loss." He then spared her a kind smile, "Taking the life of someone who is in so much pain and has fought so hard to get this far wouldn't be right. You're not a bad person. Not really. If you were… then you would have done worse to me than just barbeque my back."

His sincere response had Paprika blink in surprise. "You… were testing me?" When she saw him nod his head, the Makyan then frowned back at him. "Even so… this doesn't change anything between us… and it certainly doesn't change how I feel about you. I still think you're a deceitful, cold-hearted, ruthless scumbag."

Gohan chuckled and shrugged, "Maybe. But hey, like I said, just give it a couple of years. I'm sure I'll grow on you eventually." He then extended a hand to her and graced his adversary with a kind smile. "I want to try and make things right. If you'll let me, I'd… really like to help you out, Paprika." It was a gesture that had Piccolo, Zangya and Videl glance at him inquisitively, before then looking to see how the girl would respond.

As expected, the white haired alien threw off his offer by knocking his hand away. "Save it. I don't need your pity or your charity." She then raised a finger and pointed at him, her action causing everyone standing around the boy to recoil fearfully. "This thing isn't over between us. Not by a long shot. I suggest you watch your back from now on, Gohan, because sooner or later I'll be coming after you again." Her eyes flashed dangerously with the promise of pain. "I trained nonstop for five years to face you in battle. I don't mind training for another."

"Heh. If it makes you happy, then that sounds good to me," the demi-Saiyan replied with a grin. "To be honest, I could use with a rival. It'll give me something to look forward to in the future… and you seem to fit that role nicely." His response to the girl's statements had Piccolo and everyone else stare at the Saiyan as if he'd grown a second head.

Paprika glared right back at him before leering for the briefest of seconds, "I'll see you at the next tournament, trash." The moment she straightened up, her red aura burst up around her like a flame. A fierce wind bellowing outwards and ruffling the clothes of all those standing around her, the demon girl then gave one last snarl and, in a burst of dust and debris, took off into the sky, shooting over the horizon.

When they saw her aura vanish, Piccolo felt a wash of nostalgia flood through him.

"Déjà vu."

"Hm?" The demi-Saiyan looked across at the Namekian in surprise, "What do you mean by that, Piccolo?" Upon asking that question, he saw the man turn to face him and smile in his direction.

"Your father said something very similar to me after he gave me a Senzu Bean at the end of the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament," the green skinned warrior explained, earning the attention of all the others standing around him. "Even though I was set on destroying him, the man still found it in his heart to let me go. As strong as he was, your father always had enough room for a little bit of compassion and mercy… a trait you've definitely inherited from him."

Blinking a couple of times, the boy grinned and nodded, "Heh. I guess it's kind of a habit that runs in the family."

Zangya, turning to stare after the vapor trail the Makyan had left in her wake, gave a grunt of indifference, "You sure it was okay to let her go?" Considering how strong she was, the Hera wasn't all too sure about letting somebody like her go so easily.

"Ah, it'll be fine," Gohan replied with a megawatt smile. "She's only interested in beating me to a bloody pulp, so we don't have to worry about her destroying the planet or anything." His answer had everyone give him a deadpanned stare.

"If you say so," the orange haired fighter shrugged, before stepping away with her arms folded.

Videl, still hanging off of her trainer's arms, smiled across at the others before turning her attention to the half-Saiyan hero. "You fought an amazing battle, Gohan-kun. Both of you did."

The youngster grinned, "Thanks, Videl."

After hanging back for the past few minutes and listening to the interactions between the warriors, the announcer then felt it was time to intervene. Clearing his throat and stepping forward while adjusting his tie, the man regarded the group with a smile as he then moved on to his next order of business. "I think it's nearly time to get this show on the road. You two kids can head back to the waiting room and we'll… clean up for the final match."

"Sure. No problem," Gohan nodded.

With that said, both youngsters quickly marched back to the main building, where all the other Junior Division contenders were waiting and watching them fearfully. The audience applauded Gohan as he left the ring and as soon as he disappeared through the practically ruined barricade, Piccolo and Zangya flew back to the walkway, leaving the tournament's staff and officials to clear things up.

The ring was barely holding up at this point. With an entire corner gone and a massive crater sitting in its center, the best the officials could do was sweep it of all the debris and give the surface a patch job. And that was it…

XXX

Up in the stands somewhere in the front row, an elderly couple had just finished picking themselves up with the help of a fellow spectator sitting alongside them. Upon dusting themselves down and picking up his wife's purse, the portly old man with the white mustache, checker shirt and suspenders smiled towards the kind gentlemen that had shielded all of them from the explosions that'd taken place at ring side.

"Th-Thank you so much, sir."

"You're most welcome," the man with the orange and blue gi and spiky black hair replied cheerfully. He then helped another young man up from behind his seat and, after making sure he was sitting down comfortably, stood up to full height and watched as the officials cleared up the area.

"My gosh. What an amazing performance," the elderly man's wife exclaimed in an amazed tone of voice, at the same time adjusting her glasses. "They never used special effects in the last world tournament we saw. Incredible."

"Actually dear… I don't think those were special effects. They looked pretty real to me," the old man cut in, earning an inquisitive look from the woman. "I do not think they would rig explosives in the middle of a fighting match. That would be much too dangerous."

"Really? But… there's no way any of that could have been real," the woman murmured, pulling out a handkerchief to dab across her face. "All those loud thunder claps and beams of light… it was almost like those two youngins' were superhuman."

The man standing alongside them chuckled with his hands on his belt. "Actually, you're right. Those two _were_ superhuman. All of that stuff you saw out there, the flashes of light, the explosions and the flying… those were all real."

Blinking a couple of times, the wife glanced back towards the ring and, considering it for a few moments, smiled, "Oh. Well isn't that something."

Her husband turned to look towards the tall, well-built Samaritan beside them, "You must know an awful lot about this stuff to know that it was all real."

The cheerful young man gave them a sun kissed smile, "I've been doing martial arts all my life. I guess you can say I'm an old hand at this sort of stuff." He then scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Flying too."

Tilting his head at the strangely chipper adult, the elderly man surveyed him for a few moments before a gentle smile formed on his face. "Well… one thing's for sure, you certainly know what you're talking about… and I can tell that what you're saying is the truth. You have that air about you." He then pointed up at the tall stranger. "It's quite funny actually, but you look like you're wearing the exact same uniform as that Son Gohan boy."

Perking up at this, the helpful adult then tugged at his undershirt's collar and spared it a glance. "Yeah. It's… sort of our family's color at this point." Beaming at the couple now assumed in their stadium's seats, the raven haired fighter then pulled up a space next to them as well and, getting comfortable, turned to reset his attention on the ring. "I have to say, my son's growing stronger and stronger every day."

"Oh. So that's your boy out there?" the old man asked with a happy smile. "It's so nice that you've come to watch him compete."

The Son father, not only adorned in the same uniform he'd passed away in but also sporting a noticeable halo above his head, gave the words a kind smile and a sagely nod. "Yeah. I'm really glad I came. There's no way I wanted to miss this…" His eyes shimmered after he said those words. "I'll be sure to congratulate him at the end of the tournament."

XXX

Several minutes following the match with Paprika, a battle that would've turned an entire planet into a wasteland were it not confined entirely to the ring, the announcer then tapped his mike and turned to the crowd. Since everyone had managed to pick themselves up and dust themselves off amidst the ruins of the stadium, he now felt it was time to speed things along. _**"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Now that the ring has been cleared up, it's time we moved on to the final match! But before we do, let's give a hand to the brilliant performances of all our Junior Division contestants!"**_

It was a request the audience was more than willing to comply with. A rain of cheers and applause rained down from the stands, lifting the spirits of the children that'd fought and shaking them out of the stunned dazes brought on by the last semi-final battle.

After giving their praise, the announcer continued on with the proceedings. _**"It's time for the final match of the Junior Competition! Folks, let's welcome back to the arena Videl and Gohan! Come on out!"**_ Under the collective cries of excitement from every person in the stadium, the two youngsters emerged from the waiting room.

Spurred on by the other junior division competitors, most of whom were cheering them as well, the pair strolled down the slightly ruined pathway up to the decimated ring. Seeing as that they didn't have a flat base to compete on anymore, the two of them made certain to avoid the potholes and craters that lay in their wake, and headed for a spot the announcer had arranged for them.

Now adorned in a newly repaired uniform, the still banged up looking Gohan with band aids slapped across his cheeks and forehead, grinned at his eager opponent, "This is it. Are you ready?"

Videl, not at all put off in the slightest, smiled back at him competitively, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Once both of them were out and standing on one of the only space that'd remained intact throughout the entire superhuman ordeal, the duo stood across from one another with the announcer in the middle.

Hercule, meanwhile, was currently sticking his head out the top window, "DO YOUR BEST, SWEET PEA! DADDY'S CHEERING FOR YOU!" His bellowing voice across the arena had the raven haired girl blush with embarrassment.

Upon checking to make sure both combatants were ready and waiting, the man tossed his microphone to his other hand and made the final introductions.

"_**We've seen these two climb the ladder of this competition from opposite ends of the board and I gotta say, what a journey it has been. Both have displayed remarkable levels of skill and strength for their age, with the last semi-final match giving us a full scope as to what these youngsters are truly capable of,"**_ the announcer read, gesturing between the pair of similarly dressed kids in front of him. _**"On our right we have the world champion's daughter and former Junior Division Champion Videl Satan, facing off against rising star and newcomer Son Gohan, who is also the son of former world champion Son Goku. Both descended from legends, the two have spent the past several months training together in the mountains; one coaching the other, but both learning a great deal from their partnership. Outside the ring they are the best of friends, but in here… I think it's time to see what these two youngsters have to offer! So let's get ready to RUMBLE!"**_

Drawing an awed cheer from the crowd and smiles from the two facing each other down, the announcer then used that opportunity to scamper off the ring, down the stairs and onto the lawn. Once he was certain he'd secured a safe distance, he turned back to the pair and spoke into the mike one last time.

"_**Alright, kids. Whenever you're ready; LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"**_

Blocking out the sounds of the crowd, Gohan and Videl slid into fighting stances and faced each other down.

Digging her feet into the hard mat, the raven haired human smiled, "Do you want me to take it easy on you? You still look pretty winded from your last fight." To be honest, he could probably use some disinfectant.

The spiky haired teen chuckled, "Thanks. But you don't need to hold back against me, Videl. Come at me with everything you have."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh," the demi-Saiyan nodded affirmatively, all the while adjusting his fighting stance. "Even though I lost a bit of energy fighting that last battle, I have more than enough to go a few rounds with you." Despite being sore all over, he was positive he could give Videl the fight she was looking for.

"Well, if you ever feel like you're about to keel over just let me know, alright," the raven haired fighter said with a teasing grin.

"Duly noted," Gohan exclaimed, raising his guard ever so slightly. "Remember. Focus. Use the power that's inside of you."

Acknowledging his advice, Videl then clenched her fists tightly and took on a wider stance. Upon which she clenched her jaw and began focusing her energy. In mere seconds a white, fiery aura kicked up around her and started to burn brilliantly, causing the ring around her to tremble. "Time to turn up the heat!" Feeling her ki begin to climb from its neutral state of rest at an incredibly fast rate, the girl let out a mighty bellow as she drew on all of the power she could muster, causing debris to start levitating off of the ground several yards in all directions and her hair to stand on end.

The audience gasped when they felt the earth begin to tremble around them again, with Piccolo and Zangya giving a couple blinks at the amount of ki the girl was now starting to generate.

"Whoa. Someone went and got a lot stronger suddenly," the orange haired alien remarked in surprise, drawing a grunt from the Namekian next to her.

While Hercule gawked from his spot above the waiting room floor, Gohan meanwhile beamed with pride as he watched his friend take hold of her full potential. _"Videl is really something special. I've never seen someone adapt to our way of fighting so quickly before."_ She learned how to fly with only a few days of practice, she learned how to produce ki in two. Her passion and determination had allowed her to push through Roshi's and Piccolo's training regimens time and time again, and no matter how many times she fell she always got back up.

Even though she wasn't Saiyan or Namekian, she was definitely one hell of a human.

After powering up to her absolute maximum, Videl gave a grin at the amount of energy she could feel blasting off of her and held up a fist. "There!" Swinging it out, the girl then sprang off of the ground and as soon as she was in the air, vanished in a blur of movement.

Even though the audience lost sight of her completely, Gohan and the Z-fighters didn't. Glancing up, the spiky haired half-Saiyan saw his friend reappear in the air several stories above him and dive straight down towards the ring. The second she blew within range, the girl cocked her foot back and, with a loud battle cry, spun a kick straight into his head.

Gohan's arm shot up to guard and the second the teen's leg collided, a shockwave rang out that produced a small, earthly tremor.

The impact being heard all around, the demi-Saiyan and his opponent held their positions for a whole five seconds. When the glowing girl eventually disengaged, the boy in orange looked at his raised arm in surprise, upon which he started feeling pins and needles that had his hair standing on end.

"Gaaah! I actually felt that." He probably shouldn't have relaxed so much. She put all of her power into that blow.

Unfortunately he didn't have time to gawk at his arm because the second Videl landed in front of him, the girl threw a right straight into his face. The boy dodged it and countered with his good arm, his fist crashing into the girl's block with the sound of a gunshot. Growling against the fist digging into her guard, the human fighter then slammed a kick into his forward leg and back flipped away, using the young Saiyan as a step ladder.

Upon spring boarding away, the instant Videl hit the ground the girl turned to the side and vanished in another crack of wind. Gohan's eyes darted left, following the clouds of dust that burst up in the direction the girl was traveling, before suddenly seeing her reappear on his right and throw a hook at his face. Blocking it blindly, he then turned to face her, where he was then met with the full fury of the girl's assault.

Punches and kicks flying, the raven haired girl began viciously attacking the half-Saiyan, forcing him to backpedal across the ring at a comfortable pace, blocking and parrying all of her attacks. Slipping left and right in a blur of movement, Gohan deflected and parried all of her blows, leading them into a running battle across the ruined arena.

The audience watched the pair vanish in the form of two indiscernible blurs that darted across the stage left and right. They couldn't tell who was who. All they could do was look around in confusion, and listen to the sounds of kiloton blows connecting over and over again. The most obvious shouts filling the air belonged to Videl, while the occasional grunt and exclamation of surprise came from Gohan.

Clearly sticking to defensive to see what else his student could do, the cheerful half-Saiyan began mixing it up and throwing in counters to try and throw his opponent off. In the midst of their scuffle, Gohan parried one of Videl's punches and threw a counter, only for her to block it and retaliate with an even more vicious assault. Glad to see how determined she was, he then threw a hard elbow, only to have it connect with one of her own that produced a concussive shockwave that cracked the ground beneath them.

Feeling the tremor, the astonished announcer gazed in awe at the sight before deciding to address his equally stunned audience. _**"Wow! What an amazing development! It seems our previous champion Videl has learned a few new moves since the last tournament! Feel that power! She's definitely not making it easy for our newcomer Gohan! Look at them go!"**_

Growling, Videl then threw a random flurry of punches, all of which Gohan intercepted with his own, their knuckles colliding in rapid succession before he interrupted the exchange with a swift, sweeping kick. Swaying back to avoid and leaping through the air, the pigtailed fighter drew her hand back and with a shout, fired a yellow blast of energy straight down at her opponent, only to see him slap it aside with a chop and counter with a blast of his own.

Videl dropped fast and avoided it, the attack shooting out of the stadium and into the sky. Once she was crouched, a blue aura suddenly exploded around her and, cocking her right fist back, produced a stream of electricity around it. She then shot forward, her energy taking on a strange, arrowhead shape that surprised the young Saiyan at her sudden increase in speed.

With a mighty bellow, the raven haired girl drove her lightning charged fist towards her foe in a blur. _**"Hawk Arrow!"**_ She then connected with the cross-arm block Gohan held up, an impact producing an earthshaking thunderclap. The force of the attack traveled through the boy and punched a trench into the ring behind him, flinging debris into the air and a blast of wind across the stands.

Aura still raging around her, Videl kept her fist embedded in the teen's arm when she saw him smile at her.

"Nice power."

Grinning, the young fighter then sprang away. The moment Gohan fell into a defensive stance, his friend touched down on the very edge of the arena and powered up. Taking aim, Videl threw her hands forward and unleashed a concentrated golden blast of energy, much larger than her last, and lobbed it at the boy. The half-Saiyan slapped it out of the coliseum and fired one in kind, forcing the girl to leap to the side and avoid it. The second it took out a small chunk of the ring, she fired a second, resulting in an epic shoot out between the two.

Streaks of light flashed across the concrete mat, blasting out chunks of tile and concrete. The audience watched the display in awe, every so often screaming and ducking to avoid being pelted by debris. Eventually, after a trade off that lasted for several long seconds, Videl then had a stroke of luck when she landed off to the side and launched a single-handed blast at her opponent. This one came in low and fast, forcing Gohan to speedily leap into the air and avoid it as it took out the section he was standing on.

Suspending himself several stories above the ring, the boy breathed a sigh of relief, "Woot. That was a close one. Huh?" Noticing his opponent had disappeared, Gohan began looking around to see where she'd gone, only to then spin around when he sensed her reappear behind him in a charge. Impressed by her agility, he then engaged her in a midair battle, punches and kicks flying between them as they traded hit after hit. The sounds of rapid-fire gunshots once again filled the arena, drowning out all other noises.

Zangya, blinking as she watched the pair battle it out while the audience gawked, tiled her head when she heard Videl's shouts of effort. "Is it just me… or is wonder boy actually coaching the little spitfire?"

The Namekian warrior merely smiled.

After a full minute of exchanging blows, Videl then stopped the engagement by kicking off of the boy's arm, dropping altitude in the process. Flipping away and taking aim, the young fighter then gave a shout and fired a _**Kiai**_ up at the boy, hitting him front on and causing him to lurch back slightly with a wince. It was a hit to the boy that had the crowds awe and Hercule cheer.

Dropping down to the ring, the girl crouched low and took flight, charging up at the seemingly staggered boy with a yell. As soon as she was in range, she chucked a kick at him, only to see him vanish when she was only three feet from him. Caught off guard, Videl stopped and began trying to feel him out. She spotted him at the last second and looked up, only to see him appear and drop an elbow right down on top of her. A 'crack' of impact rang out followed by a shout of pain as the girl was sent plummeting back towards the grand stage.

When she hit it with her feet, she managed to cushion her fall with a crouch. Videl then glared up, her expression cringing as she focused all of her energy and attention into her next move. "Alright. I can't screw this one up, because if I do…" Narrowing her eyes, the girl reached out with her senses and waited. Then at the count of three…

She moved!

Leaping straight into the air, she avoided the punch from her opponent when Gohan reappeared out of thin air directly in front of her. When he missed, the demi-Saiyan's gaze shot skywards, where he proceeded to watch the pigtailed girl rocket towards the clouds in a streak of white light. The sight of her ascension into the atmosphere drew a whistle from the enthusiastic warrior.

"Wow. Nice speed."

He only had to wait a couple of seconds before the girl stopped at the altitude she was aiming for, with the ring sitting far below and her opponent standing clearly in her line of sight. Gritting her teeth as she concentrated, Videl then gave a nod and, placing her hands over her forehead, one on top of the other, began to focus her energy.

When Piccolo and Zangya wondered what the heck she was doing, their eyes widened moments later when they saw the move she planned on executing next.

Golden energy crackling above her forward-facing palm, the raven haired fighter growled. _"This one's for you, Gohan!"_ Once she was done charging, she fired. _**"MA-SEN-KO-HAAAAAAAAA!"**_ A clap of a sonic boom rang out when she then launched the signature orange and pink beam straight down towards the arena. The beam curled in like a missile, startling the heck out of the audience and the Z-fighters watching from the stands.

Blinking in surprise, Gohan then grinned and took a stance. Watching the attack barrel down on him for a couple more seconds, the demi-Saiyan then took evasive action and leapt out of the way. He moved just in time to watch the blast take another chunk out of the ring with a concussive explosion, which hurled a cloud of black smoke high into the air. The flash of light from the blast temporarily blinded the audience and caused the nearby announcer to cry out in terror, while the demi-Saiyan managed to land safely out of the attack's lethal range.

However, the instant he landed, his eyes then snapped up to see Videl right on top of him, hooking towards his position in a dive.

"_Just like with Guldo on Namek." _Recognizing the maneuver as being exactly the same as the one he and Krillin attempted to use on the weakest member of the Ginyu Force, only to miss when the man used his unusual time freezing ability on them, Gohan's expression then became serious.

With impressive speed and maneuverability, the girl swung at her opponent with a punch, only to suddenly see him vanish in a blur and dart off to the side faster than she could track. Gasping in surprise, Videl looked behind her, where she saw him reappear in the air and thrust his hand forward.

Yelling out with his jab, Gohan fired a _**Kiai**_ burst straight at the girl, the blast connecting while she was still in motion. A cry of pain escaping her lips as her gi was shredded by the invisible attack, Videl was unable to stop when she was promptly blasted out of the ring, where she then bounced off the grass and hit the dividing wall.

When her body fell to the ground, it was over.

After the smoke from the blast cleared, the audience looked down to see what'd happened in the split-second, final scuffle between the two fighters. When they and the announcer spotted Videl lying outside the ring on the grass, light bulbs quickly flickered on in each and every one of their heads.

Spotting the outcome for himself, the announcer brought his microphone about and addressed the fans with a shout of delight, _**"Well… there you have it folks! It seems the winner for the Junior Division has been decided!"**_ Turning to the ring and throwing his hand out, the blonde haired man in shades grinned, _**"The junior champion for this 25**__**th**__** World Martial Arts Tournament is newcomer to the ring Son Gohan!"**_ Rousing the startled audience from their shocked states, all around applause started to rain down on the arena, followed shortly by a chorus of cheers.

Whistles and shouts of praise reaching him, the young half-Saiyan acknowledged their calls with a bow before wandering over to the ruined side of the mat. Crouching down at the edge, he saw Videl struggle to sit up. Once she was upright, the girl groaned and rubbed her head.

"Ah… man. That hurt like hell."

"Sorry about that," Gohan said apologetically, squatting overhead with a beaming smile on his face. "I was supposed to hit you hard enough to knock you out of the ring, not knock you out cold. Just give it a minute."

Massaging her brain, the raven haired youngster slowly pushed herself back to her feet and staggered over. "I lost, huh. I shouldn't be surprised." Placing her hand on the ring, she smiled up at her former opponent while the audience continued to cheer and applaud. "You were incredible, Gohan. No matter how fast I moved, you were always one step ahead of me." She then slowly got back onto the ring, the demi-Saiyan offering her a hand that she gladly accepted. "Even though I knew I didn't stand a chance of winning, I still gave it my best shot. It's a shame it wasn't enough."

"Don't feel bad about it. My friends and I have been fighting like this for years, and you only just started fighting on our level," the demi-Saiyan reasoned with a warm look fixed upon the winded girl. "Still, I'm really impressed with how far you've come, Videl. After only a year of our training, you were able to become as strong as Radditz. And with your potential unlocked, your power's now roughly the equivalent of ten or fifteen of him."

Videl grinned, "Not a bad start, huh?"

The boy chuckled, "Not a bad start at all." When he saw the girl raise her fist towards him, the spiky haired warrior considered it for all of a second before responding to it with his own. Bumping knuckles, the pair shared a grin with one another as the announcer clambered onto the ring to interview the victor. "Good fight, Videl."

"Good fight, Gohan."

XXX

(Sometime later)

After the two fighters had shaken hands with one another, the announcer took a moment to congratulate Gohan and Videl for their stellar performances in the tournament and the winner on his success. Telling the demi-Saiyan that he looks forward to seeing him compete at the next Junior Division in a couple years time and the adult division later, he then invited the current World Martial Arts Champion onto the stage for a complimentary match with the youngster.

Understandably enough, Hercule was more than a little bit hesitant about making an appearance before the super powered youngster and his fans. But with some gentle encouragement from his beloved daughter, the world champ bucked up the confidence necessary to step up and face the boy.

It was a brief fight. Gohan let the guy lay on the punches and blocked all of them before lightly tossing the man out of the ring, all the while putting on an entertaining show for the audience. All things considered, everything worked out well in the end. The champ said his loss was all in good sport for the kid, much to the chagrin of his daughter and Gohan's amusement, and then he left. This then allowed the announcer to move on to the adult division of the tournament.

After being told how he would be receiving his cash prize through the mail, Gohan then took Videl through the waiting room and out of the stadium.

Hearing the clamor of the coliseum just down the road, the demi-Saiyan breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out, earning a curious glance from his best friend.

"Tired?"

"Yeah. Sore too. Man," Gohan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck at the same time. "I really got my butt kicked around in that semi-final fight didn't I?"

"After she transformed, yeah. But you managed to pull through just fine." Videl gave him an amused look as the pair wandered down the road at a comfortable pace, passing by civilians who pleasantly waved and greeted the two finalists of the Junior Division. While they returned their gestures kindly with waves of their own, the two of them mostly focused on their conversation. "Still, that didn't stop her from going to town on you."

"I figured I could handle her as she was, but she turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. She transformed so quickly. Not to mention I couldn't tell what her real power level was since her energy was jumping all over the place. It really caught me off guard there," the half-Saiyan replied with a nervous grin. "But now that I know what she can do, I'll be ready for her the next time we meet."

Beaming, the girl with pigtails then stepped over and playfully nudged him in the side, "I'm really glad you were able to come out here today to compete, Gohan-kun. It was a lot of fun."

"Yeah. We should really do stuff like this more often." The half-Saiyan grinned excitedly. "If the next tournament is going to be anything like this one, I want in."

A giggle escaped his friend's lips. "Just make sure to leave the ring out of it next time. Honestly, it was starting to look like a crumbling sand castle out there by the time you and Paprika were done with it."

"Heh. Don't worry. I'll try to keep the damage to a minimum in the 26th Junior Division."

Videl's expression then warmed even more as she sided up closer to the boy, drawing his attention back down to her, "Thanks for not holding back, by the way. I'd be pretty disappointed if you didn't try to win… being the strongest guy in the world and all."

A little bit puzzled by her admission, Gohan then decided to roll with it and smiled fondly back at her, "No problem." While he was exchanging smiles with her, the youngster then jumped when he got a hard pinch to the arm. "Ow!" When he looked back at the smirking girl, he saw her hold the offending fingers up and mimic a crab's pincer.

"That's for knocking me into the wall," she said, before slipping her hands behind her and grinning proudly.

Staring at her cheery expression, Gohan couldn't help but shake his head and smile. _"Girls are complicated."_ He then looked ahead of him again and stretched his arms above him. "Come on. Let's go grab something to eat."

"What about Piccolo and Zangya?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be able to find us once they realize we're not in the stadium area anymore."

Videl shrugged, "Sounds good to me."

As the two fighters ambled down the road side by side, completely engrossed in their conversation and the atmosphere of it all, the pair then stopped when they suddenly saw a figure step out into the middle of the intersection up ahead. At first surprised at the man dressed in the same style of orange and blue gi that they were wearing, it only took a couple of seconds before Gohan realized exactly who it was standing in his path. When it clicked, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock.

There was no way he could forget that man's face. No way in hell.

"Hey, son."

"D-Dad?" Gohan swallowed, eyes starting to shimmer as he looked upon the face of his father.

"Huh? That's…" Videl, noticing the boy's reaction, looked between the two men quickly before turning back to her friend in surprise. "What's going on? I thought you said your dad was dead."

"H-He is," the boy murmured, still unable to take his eyes off of the Saiyan standing just a couple yards away.

Goku, chuckling at his son's slack jawed expression, placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head at him curiously. "What's up, Gohan? Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me for the rest of the day?"

"Dad!" No sooner had the man asked that question, the spiky haired youngster practically teleported forward and caught the man around the neck in a big hug. His father actually had to take a few steps back since the speed his son hit him with nearly knocked him off his feet. Despite this, Goku returned the hug enthusiastically and laughed as his son smothered his face into his shoulder. "Dad! I-I thought… you… I…" Sniffing and wiping away his tears on the man's shirt, the teen floated back down to the ground, stepped away, and looked up at his father's visage in confusion. "This isn't… why are you here?"

"Well, when you were up on Kami's Lookout talking with your friend, I heard through King Kai that you were planning to enter the _World Martial Arts Tournament_, so I asked Baba if I could pop down here for a couple of hours to see you compete." His smile widened even more so. "You did really well, son. I'm so proud of you."

The compliment from his father had Gohan's eyes shine with tears of joy. Clearing them away with a decisive swipe of his forearm, the boy sniffled, "Thanks dad." He then wasted no time in hugging him again, this time wrapping his arms around his back, "I… I missed you so much."

Feeling the powerful boy tremble against him, the man also felt his eyes start to water. Grinning in delight, Goku rested a hand on top of the teen's head and ruffled his hair affectionately. "I missed you too, son." Upon feeling the boy relinquish his hold on him a minute later, the warrior then looked up to see Videl standing a few feet away looking at them with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Goku promptly acknowledged her presence with a nod and a smile, "Hey there. You must be Gohan's friend."

"Oh." Realizing she was being spoken to, Videl bowed, "Y-Yes."

When his son stepped away, the smiling father turned to him and nudged him in the shoulder. "Hey. Are you going to introduce her?"

Gohan quickly jolted back into reality and, after sucking it up, grinned across at his friend, fighting partner and student, "Videl, this here's my dad." He then did the same to the other, "Dad, this is my best friend, Videl. I met her while I was competing in the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament_ about a year ago."

The spiky haired Saiyan nodded his head politely to her, "It's very nice to meet you, Videl."

"Th-Thank you, sir. It's nice to meet you too," the girl replied in a timid and polite fashion, "I've heard a lot about you and your adventures through Gohan. Your son speaks very highly of you."

"He does, does he?"

"Uh-huh. He said that you're the strongest man in the universe, who saved the earth many times. He even said that you were the first of their group to become a Super Saiyan."

Goku chuckled at that retelling and massaged the back of his head, "Yeah. That was a bit of a rough time for all of us. The worst fight though was against Cell."

Nodding in agreement, Videl then took on a curious look and regarded the man inquisitively for a moment. "Gohan… said that you also died during the Cell Games and that you were staying in Otherworld training with the Kais."

"Uh-huh."

"I-If that's true… how is it that you're here now?"

"Well, I had to call in a couple of favors… a couple of REALLY big favors, but I was able to convince King Yemma to let me down for a few hours to have a walk around and see the family." He grinned and pointed at the halo hanging over his head, which had the raven haired girl look at in surprise. "I'm still dead, but I've earned enough credit through my deeds to make one or two round trips to the land of the living."

"Oh. I see," Videl replied, before an understanding smile formed on her face.

"I'm just glad to see that my son is going out into the world and making so many friends," the father said, regarding the girl with respect before then turning to share a grin with his son. It was in that instant the pigtailed fighter was able to see the physical and emotional similarities between the pair, which had her gaze at the adult and child duo in wonder.

As the group stood in the middle of the intersection catching up, they were soon joined by Piccolo and Zangya floating down from above. After tracking Gohan's signature out of the stadium area and further into the district, the pair had quietly taken off from the coliseum walkway and followed the children outside of the sacred battle grounds. It was only until they started their approach of the two fighters did they suddenly notice they weren't alone, and that they were accompanied by yet another familiar face.

The Namekian recognized him almost instantly, whereas it took the Hera-seijin some time to identify the man in the orange and blue gi; someone who looked remarkably similar to a picture she saw back in the Son house.

Spotting the two aliens landing nearby, the Saiyan grinned, "Hey, Piccolo. Great to see you."

"Goku," the green warrior murmured, appearing surprised at first before smiling shortly afterwards, "Well, isn't this the weirdest day ever. First a complete rehashing of our youths happens in the semi-final rounds and then _you_ show up. Did you come here to haunt us or something?"

The man laughed at his rival-turned-friend's comment and rubbed the back of his head uneasily, at about the same time Gohan snickered as well. "Maybe. It's kind of hard to tell. What? Am I looking a little bit transparent to you guys or something?" He then checked his halo and patted himself down.

His actions earned a roll of the eyes from Piccolo, "No. You're not transparent."

"Oh, thank kai. That would have been scary," Goku chuckled, placing his hands on his hips and breathing out in relief. "The last thing I want to come back as is a ghost. Seriously. If I did then I wouldn't be able to eat any of Chi-Chi's delicious cooking."

"_Yep. That's Goku alright,"_ the Namekian thought before narrowing his eyes, "So… you popped down here just to say hi?"

"You could say that. I've got some time left before Baba comes around to pick me up, so I'll be sure to make the most of it." It was around this point Goku finally noticed the orange haired woman standing beside the seven-foot-tall fighter and fixed his attention upon her curiously. About several seconds later the Saiyan's hair stood on end and his eyes bugged out of their sockets when he finally recognized who she was. "GAH! Y-YOU?! A-Aren't you one of Bojack's henchmen?!"

Zangya smirked, "Former-henchmen, if you please. I may have been his lieutenant at one stage in my life, but I was officially kicked out of his little gang of Galaxy Soldiers the second he tried to kill me."

Her response had Goku blink a few times before swallowing nervously, "Oh. Uhh… okay."

"The name's Zangya, by the way," the Hera finished, putting her weight onto one side of her body and staring back at the befuddled visitor confidently.

Slowly recovering from the shock, Goku then turned his attention back to his son and smiled his way, "You really are meeting a lot of interesting people, Gohan." When he saw the youngster grin, the man returned it with gusto before then beckoning everybody over, Videl included. "We can catch up soon enough. But I think it's about time I took all of you guys home. It's already getting close to lunch and I bet Chi-Chi is wondering where everyone is."

Slowly, the entire group lined up alongside the Saiyan and made sure they were all comfortably arranged. With Goku placing a hand on his son's shoulder, the youngster in turn then took Videl's hand in his, making her blush at his bold action. Zangya then wandered over to Gohan and lightly gripped his shoulder and Piccolo went over to the Saiyan and rested a hand on his shoulder. Once he felt everyone was onboard, the spiky haired warrior placed two fingers to his forehead and, after a couple of seconds of pause, the entire group vanished in an instantaneous blur.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

Many, many miles away from the island, far to the north in the _Tsumisumbri Mountains_, the green skinned demon Paprika could be seen standing on the edge of a high cliff glaring out over the ice covered edifices stretching for miles around her. Ignoring the stabbing cold winds brushing over her and adorned in her full battle garb consisting of leg warmers, gi pants, midriff top and thick red scarf, the youngster had spent the past hour or so just staring out over her white expanse of landscape.

After the vicious scrub she'd gotten into with Gohan, which had seen both of them receive enormous amounts of damage, the girl had retreated to this spot in the Arctic Circle to clear her head. Managing to reproduce her usual outfit through magic materialization and fix up most of her wounds as best as she could, the girl now stood there with a few patches on her face and eyes narrowed.

Reason for her current irate expression was plain and simple.

"_He beat me,"_ the Makyan thought, a snarl escaping her lips as another gust of wind blew past. Arms folded and fangs bared, the white haired fighter then drew a hand and, after pulling it back, fired a blast into one of the nearby landmarks. The explosion that followed took a massive chunk out of the ice and left a noticeable scorch mark in the rest of the enormous wall.

Panting and lowering her arm, Paprika frowned, "I swear, one of these days I'm going to smack that arrogant smile off of his face and bury his nose in the concrete."

Considering how pissed she looked, it was extremely difficult to deny that she meant what she said.

OOO

(Sometime later)

When Gohan and the others returned to the Son residence, Chi-Chi got the biggest surprise at the front door when she saw who was accompanying them. At first the woman thought she was just seeing things, but after she slowly walked up to the man and prodded him with her fingers a few times, all remaining doubt left her in a heartbeat. She threw herself at Goku much like her son had previously and embraced him for several long minutes. While there was definitely a slap or two to the guy for being gone for so long, Chi-Chi's random mood swings eventually calmed down enough to give her husband a proper warm welcome. She even gave him a kiss… several kisses by the spectators' count.

Heck, she was so caught up in greeting her husband that she completely overlooked the fact that Gohan was looking like he'd been run over by a heard of stampeding wildebeest.

Once she was done lavishing attention on him, she then introduced Goku to their newborn son. Not at all surprised yet still looking overwhelmed the Saiyan knelt by his cradle just as his eldest son had done and marveled at the little tyke up close. He even had a chance to say hello and cradle the little rascal, being extra careful not to handle him too roughly.

After spending a terrific lunch with the family, along with Piccolo, Videl and Zangya, the group then sat around the living room and had some tea together. It was in that time Goku was able to catch up with his wife and son, and allowed Videl to see how the father of the little clan acted around his family. Watching him from her place on the couch brought a warm smile to her face, as she could see how happy the people closest to him were to have him there and how they all relished the time spent together.

Another hour or so eventually ticked by and, after sharing an affection-filled farewell with his wife, ventured out onto the front lawn with his eldest child.

Both dressed in the same orange and blue gi, making them look almost identical to one another, the Saiyan pair wandered a little ways from the house till they were standing quietly out on the plains. Looking back at the building where his family lived, the Son father smiled and looked down towards his son. "I'm happy to see you're all looking after each other so well. You, your mum, dad… you three really have a handle on things here."

"Yeah. Aside from a couple of mishaps over the last several months, things have been going great," Gohan said, smiling as he glanced up at his old man. "So far, no aliens or old enemies asking for you have shown up. While I can overlook the whole Bojack thing being a direct result of Cell, Kana just happened upon this place by accident and would have ended up fighting me anyway, and Paprika showing up was mostly my fault, since I was the one who chucked Garlic Junior into the Dead Zone. Other than that, life has been great."

Following along with the youngster's recapping of the situations, Goku then turned away with a rather nervous look coming across his face. Feeling his son's eyes fixed upon him, an anxious sigh escaped his lips as he then focused his attention on his older son once again, "I'm sorry, Gohan." The demi-Saiyan blinked in surprise. "I'm so sorry I put all of this on you… entrusting the fate of the entire world to you when you're still so young."

"Huh? W-What are you saying, dad?"

"I'm saying that this life… the one that you've lived… I never wanted it for you. I never wanted any of it to happen to you," the Saiyan whispered, looking at the boy with a solemn look in his gaze. "When you were first born, I was so amazed at how small and fragile you looked that I was afraid to pick you up. But you were so strong… and you were filled with boundless energy. Every time you grabbed my fingers or my hair, you just refused to let me go. I knew right then, from the moment I laid eyes on you, that the life we had together was the life that I wanted. I wanted to hold you, to keep you safe and to watch you grow up to become a great man."

Gohan balked when he saw hurt and sadness cross the man's face as he then looked away to gaze across the fields of their homeland.

"But instead, I was taken away from you when Radditz came to earth looking for me. I sacrificed myself to save you from him so that you could continue living, but instead I was forced to watch as you went away with Piccolo and came back a whole other person. Even though I was happy and proud to see you again, a part of me hated myself for what had happened to you. That year you spent training for Vegeta and Nappa's arrival… was a year I wanted to spend with you and your mother as a normal father… and it was all wasted. You were only four, and yet you were exposed to the worst that this world had to offer, growing up surrounded by violence and death. That's something no child should ever have to live through."

Eyes shimmering with unshed tears, Goku glanced back around at his son and looked at him with pain evident in his visage.

"Despite all that, you always did your best. No matter how big the obstacles were or how terrifying the challenges, I saw you fight and smile through it all. You put so much faith in me and everyone around you, and in turn I put my faith in you. When I saw your incredible strength, I'd convinced myself that you could handle anything thrown your way and blindly pushed you into situations I never should have from the beginning. You were just a child… and I sent you to fight not only Cell, but Vegeta, Ginyu, Frieza, and Cooler too…"

Goku then clenched his teeth and wiped his eyes on the back of his fist, a gesture that shook Gohan up something awful, as he'd never seen his dad cry before.

"I'm a terrible father. I had no idea what it was like to be a normal parent. Ever since I was your age, I'd been living all alone in the wilderness, constantly fighting and never taking the time to think about other important things in my life. Even when I had the perfect opportunity to stop and become something more than what I was, I was thrown into yet another battle… and to make things worse… I took you along with me," Goku said, shaking his head as tears trickled down his cheeks. "Fighting is all that I ever knew in life… and I did the best that I could to spend time with you and to share my knowledge just as a father should have." He then stepped towards him with a beaming smile on his face. "My only hope is that you can forgive me for putting you through all of that and placing so much weight on your shoulders."

Touched by his father's words, Gohan smiled back at the Saiyan and shook his head, "There's nothing for me to forgive, dad. You did the best you could with what you had and I couldn't ask for any more than that… you and mum both. Heck, if I hadn't started down this road, I never would have met Piccolo, Videl, Trunks, or Zangya… or any of the other people I know today. I'm glad that I was born to be your son… and I'll never forget the time we were able to spend together."

The youngster's words had the man gulp uneasily, "R-Really?"

Gohan nodded his head affirmatively. "For years I've wondered what I really wanted to do with my life and where I wanted to go. While you just wanted me to grow up happy and healthy, and to act like how I was supposed to act my age, mum wanted me to study and grow up to become a scholar. The two of you were always fighting over what I should become, leading me this way and that, trying to find my destiny. But after all the adventures we've been on and after everything that's happened in the past few years, I've finally realized what I want to become," the demi-Saiyan said, before looking up at his father with confidence burning in his eyes. "I want to become a strong fighter, just like my dad."

Taking in his son's answer had the man clench his fists and tremble. Allowing his mind to process what'd just been said to him, the emotionally moved Goku sniffed and, stepping towards his son, placed his hands upon his shoulders. "Even though this wasn't the life I wanted to give you, I am still damn proud of the man you're becoming, Gohan; one worthy of all the graces of the world." He then opened up his arms, a sight the demi-Saiyan walked into without hesitation and allowed his father encase him in a hug. As soon as their arms wrapped around one another, the eldest son buried his face into his dad's gi and felt him rub his head affectionately. "I love you, son."

"I love you too, dad," Gohan murmured.

After what seemed like several hours drifted by, the father and son separated. While they grinned and shared a laugh with one another, they failed to notice Chi-Chi, the Ox King, and the rest of the home's guests watching them from the front door until a couple minutes later. When they waved back at the family and received a wave in return, a shadow appearing beside them drew their gazes to the side. Upon which, they noticed a very short, very old lady in a witch's garb hovering beside them on top of a crystal ball.

Fingers laced together, the old group's acquaintance nodded to the two Saiyans in greeting before then focusing her attention on the one she was here for, "It's time to go, Goku."

Smiling sadly, the warrior nodded. "Okay," he replied, breathing a heavy sigh and slowly following the fortune teller out into the open.

Once he came to stand beside the mystical timekeeper, the spiky haired fighter turned back to his family. Looking from his son, to his wife, to the baby Goten she was holding protectively in her arms, to Videl, the Ox King, Piccolo, and then to Zangya standing around them, the man gave the group a wide grin and his characteristic salute.

However, before he could take off, he suddenly saw Gohan grin his way and throw his fist towards him in a challenging fashion, "Dad! I'm learning how to use the _Instantaneous Movement_ technique! As soon as I've mastered it, the first place I'm visiting is Otherworld! So watch out!"

Goku, expression brightening even more so, held up his own fist in a similar gesture, "I'll be waiting, son."

Tears reflected in their eyes, the pair spared one last smile with one another before both Goku and Baba faded away on the wind. Their departure was marked by a gentle breeze across the fields, which whipped through the area and ruffled Gohan's hair and clothes.

Slowly, but surely, the cheerful boy's gaze moved from the spot his father once stood to the horizon beyond the mountains.

Though he had no idea what was waiting for him up ahead, Gohan had a feeling that things were going to be alright… and he was going to face the future with his head held high.

OOO

(That night)

On the other side of the planet, high above a collection of expansive snow-covered valleys and mountain ranges, a storm was starting to gather and slowly make its way across the land. The blanket of clouds being so thick that they completely blocked out the starry canvas of night, the eerie, almost hellish conditions presented the perfect backdrop for the arrival of yet another unexpected visitor to the earth.

But unlike with Goku, this one was not a guest that the Z-fighters would be welcoming gladly.

As the region howled with an ungodly wind across the heavens, a small, sphere shaped craft with a single porthole, dropped in through the planet's atmosphere and, upon arcing over one of the larger edifices of the area, crash-landed at the base of a hill. Its impact with the earth being marked by a great explosion, which itself was drowned out by another series of thunderclaps, the craft managed to form a massive crater in the ice cold ground, with the ship suffering no damages whatsoever.

It was then, moments after landing, the pod ejected its one and only passenger. Glowing in a haunting, radioactive like aura, the figure crawled out of the vessel and collapsed at the very bottom of the crater. There, the man rolled over and began to speak, his words coming out in ragged breaths and pained cries of anger.

"K-K-Ka-ka-rot…" Teeth clenching as his scarred body was hit by yet another agonized spasm, the green haired titan then sucked in a deep breath of air before letting out the most spine chilling cry anyone had ever heard. "KAKAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" After which the green aura surrounding the figure's body faded, and not only did the man's size and muscle mass decrease, but his green-tinted hair turned blonde, indicating a sudden loss of steam.

Following his terrifying roar, the large man, with his stomach and chest ripped open and blood pooling all around him, began to pant and breathe heavily once again. However, after clawing desperately at the ground to try and find some purchase, and after several attempts to sit up, the golden haired man with the teal colored eyes gritted his teeth one last time before, with a gasp, he went out like a light. In that same instance, his blonde hair faded to black and his body fell limp.

Despite seemingly succumbing to a most welcomed death thanks to his grievous wounds, the fact that the man's chest was still heaving indicated he was alive and well. But due to the wounds he'd sustained in his battle over a year ago, he was unable to maintain consciousness and so slipped into a quiet coma.

The world could only hope it was a long one, because as the days flew by, the crater the Saiyan visitor was lying in filled with water and iced over. The freezing temperature brought on by a freak storm meant the man was flash-frozen inside a massive pool of ice, perfectly preserving him and inadvertently placing him in suspended animation.

Those who would venture nearby would think it was merely a lake turned into a block from the extreme cold of the mountains.

But in reality… it was a cold bed for the most dangerous being to ever be born into this universe.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

Far away from the planet, currently on its seventy-five year orbital flight of the Solar System, _Halley's Comet_ could be seen tearing through the expanse of space at breakneck speeds, leaving a blue trail of dust and gas in its wake. Recognized as one of the only short-period comets in that part of the galaxy, this majestic mass of rock and ice was right now blowing past Mars's orbit on its way to Earth's rotational path, where it was set to make its grand reappearance to the people of the world.

On the surface it seemed like nothing more than a harmless homecoming of an old astronomical milestone; one that'd been observed since the days of the old philosophers.

However, what the people of the earth failed to recognize was the dark secret the comet held and what was currently being contained within its mineral encrusted form.

Buried deep inside of its eleven kilometer dimensions, sitting in the very nucleus of the comet itself, there sat a single, lone chamber. Surrounded by substances that were over tens of millions of years old and seals that were beyond the knowledge of even the most educated of scholars, the room was filled to the brim with a sturdy, solid material strongly resembling crystal. Though this seemed like a typical core for a comet of this age and origin, it was what was resting inside of its center that was the reason for such an elaborate system.

A gargantuan being, five times larger than any man with grey, rhino like skin, a body layered with enormous muscles and bone plates protruding from its shoulders, arms and face, could be seen with its hands and legs bound to the sides of the room. Its shackles, combined with the diamond crystal surrounding it, kept this creature locked in a constant state of living death, out of sight of the universe and away from any curious passers who would seek to awaken it.

It seemed like a sure system to keep whatever it was contained inside for all eternity.

But just when this entity seemed like nothing more than a corpse banished to drift forever in a cold and unforgiving void, in the dark of its crystal prison, a pair of blood red eyes suddenly opened up and a low, guttural growl reverberated throughout the chamber.

A sleeping evil has been awakened…

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Well, what do yah know. Goku is only back for a few hours and bad shit starts to happen.

Perhaps his premonition was right all along. Whenever he's around, evil shit starts coming to call.

Good thing one of them is in a coma and the other is still millions of miles away.

**If anyone wants to take a guess as to who the two new faces are, be my guest. The last one though will take a bit of research for you to find out who he is. Look for something fitting the comet prisoner's description and you'll have a good idea of what's coming around the corner. I was inspired to create the comet prisoner based off of one of the most dangerous comic book villains ever created, and I figure the DBZ universe could use with an enemy like this.**

Anyhow, Gohan's fight with Paprika is over and he was able to spend some time with his dad. I took inspiration of the fight from Goku and Piccolo Junior's battle and Goku and Turles's, since I thought they blended well.

Oh, and just some extra bits of info, I've included a couple new numbers below:

Cell Games:

Gohan – 12,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 160,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 335,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2 Injured) – 275,000,000 riki

Perfect Cell – 180,000,000 riki

Buff Perfect Cell – 200,000,000 riki

Super Perfect Cell – 300,000,000 riki

Present:

Gohan – 16,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 200,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 375,000,000 riki

Paprika – 15,000,000 riki

Paprika (Super Makyan) – 190,000,000 riki

In this story, Paprika represents a milestone that Gohan couldn't previously reach before. But after his training he's now able to fight against someone of Perfect Cell's caliber in only his first Super Saiyan form.


	11. Peacetime?

Author's Note: Well, with Broly currently in a coma and frozen in ice, and the other guy stuck inside a comet still on its way to earth, let's see what the Z-fighters are getting up to in their free time?

* * *

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Peacetime?_

The weeks following the _World Martial Arts Tournament_ in which Gohan emerged the new Junior Division Champion saw some of the greatest days in the Z-fighters' lives. Thanks to his chance encounter with Paprika in the ring and with his father later that day, the young demi-Saiyan found an even greater sense of motivation to continue training to become even stronger than before. Though the Makyan wasn't an enemy that'd been able to push him to the absolute limits of his abilities, she nevertheless provided him a small glimpse of one of the many other unique creatures living out there in the universe.

This drove home the reality that Gohan needed to stay in shape and to keep pushing the boundaries of his capabilities to become an even greater fighter than he was now. That meant harder training, healthier living, and even more studying.

Funnily enough, his sudden boost in enthusiasm was so great that it'd seemed to filter out to all the other people in his life and spurred them on to do even more with their time. Krillin had started working double shifts at his construction job and was now dating Android 18#. Vegeta, albeit hesitantly and very discreetly, had taken to looking after his son Trunks more frequently and a bigger role in Bulma's life, even if it was only physically. Yamcha was hitting the clubs like there was no tomorrow and despite failing miserably at securing a long-term relationship you had to give the man props for perseverance. Not to mention Tien had begun visiting _Kame House_ on a regular basis, dropping in every now and again with Chiaotzu to say hi to the old team and to check up on everybody.

Surprisingly enough, he'd even brought Launch around on one of his visits, someone whom the gang hadn't seen for years but had suddenly decided to step back into the limelight.

Things were really picking up for the entire group and this wasn't even counting the more personal aspects of Gohan's days.

Between his training, his work and his part-time studies, the demi-Saiyan now had another loved one around the domicile to look after. Goten, born several months after his father passed away, had become a new beacon of light for all those in the Son household and a defining element in Gohan's life; someone he would hold close and protect over the many years to come.

He was also someone that the demi-Saiyan wanted to share with the world. Once Goten became old enough to be taken out of the house, Gohan immediately took the youngster on a round trip of the world to introduce him to all of his friends and relatives.

With Mount Paozu being the starting point of their journey, the first person the demi-Saiyan approached was Icarus the dragon. A really old friend and companion who lived in a cave Goku had found for Gohan not too far from their house, the little horned flyer often stopped by to visit the teen whenever he was at home studying or outside training.

"Hey, Icarus. How's it going?" the spiky haired fighter greeted the little dragon, who stood in front of the two boys wagging his tail like a dog. Reaching up, Gohan petted the reptile on the snout, earning a cute purr and nuzzle to his palm in return. "Aww, I missed you too, buddy." He then held his baby brother up to the creature, making sure the tyke sat comfortably in the groove of his arm. "This here is Icarus, Goten. I met him many years ago on a camping trip with Krillin, Bulma and Oolong. He's a really good friend of mine. Say hi."

Understandably the younger brother was hesitant at first, shying away from the dragon when the mythical pink animal leaned in to smell him. The newborn murmured uneasily and gripped his brother's gi top in a clear sign of nervousness and apprehension, earning a chuckle from the eleven-year-old warrior.

"It's okay. He won't bite." Wanting to show his brother that Icarus meant him no harm, Gohan reached up and petted him once again, coaxing a pleasant shriek from the winged beast. "See. He's a good dragon." Showing his baby brother how he petted the reptile on the nose without being bitten, he slowly but surely encouraged Goten to do the same.

After a few tentative pets and pokes of the dragon's snout, Goten then gave a playful giggle when Icarus returned the child's gesture with an affectionate chirp and purr, ending with the flyer nuzzling the baby half-Saiyan in the cheek.

While Chi-Chi cheerfully watched on from her place by the door of her house, the two young Saiyans were also watched closely by Zangya, who was currently learning against the standalone pole of the family's washing line with her arms folded and a warm smile on her face.

In addition to introducing his baby brother to his neighbors, Lime and Mr. Lao included, Gohan also flew him to Capsule Corp and _Kame House _to meet the rest of their kin. The Briefs clan and the residents of Master Roshi's place were delighted to receive the newborn into their homes, with Vegeta stating in his usual tone that the eldest son had better raise Goten to be a great warrior. While Gohan had every intention of teaching his sibling many things, he was also going to be mindful of his choices and what the little one wanted to do with his life, rather than force anything upon him. This of course led to the Saiyan Prince scolding him for the hundredth time for being a weak willed Saiyan, which punctually ended in Vegeta getting yelled at by Bulma.

Goten had a really great time at Master Roshi's place after that. Not only did he get a chance to meet Krillin and Oolong, he also got to have a play with Turtle and Puar. The child had a blast crawling and messing around in the sand surrounding the island, while his older brother watched over him from afar and caught up with his teammate of many years. During that hour, Gohan told Krillin about the tournament, Goku's visit and everything else that'd happened in between. He also got a chance to say hi to 18#, who'd dropped by to visit for the day and to hang out with the folks on the tiny isle.

Following that cheerful visit, Gohan then took his younger brother up to meet Dende, Piccolo and Mr. Popo on the _Lookout_, where the guardian of earth was able to give his blessings and congratulate the youngster and the newest addition to his family in person. The demi-Saiyan's mentor also expressed fond wishes and tactfully smiled as he watched his student hold his baby brother proudly in front of his friend from Namek.

The pair stayed there for quite some time, with Goten finding an immediate interest in the butterflies fluttering about the flower gardens and one of the palm trees growing along the walkway. Eventually though, the raven haired Z-fighter had to leave, and with his sibling in his arms, carried him all the way back home.

From that day onwards, little by little, everybody's lives started to change.

XXX

(One and a half years later)

Sitting side by side at the desk in Gohan's bedroom, the practically inseparable teenage duo of the Z-fighters were currently perusing over the various texts and articles that was their schoolwork for the day. Having taken lessons under the demi-Saiyan multiple times before, the ever studious and spirited Videl didn't find the institute-like environment of the boy's study peculiar at all.

In fact, over the past year, she'd taken quite a shine to it.

Dressed in a large white shirt and a pair of jeans, with her hair done up into a ponytail, the famed daughter of the world champion Hercule Satan was presently chewing on the end of her 2B pencil while trying to solve a particularly vexing math problem. Glancing across at her tutor who was, at that very moment, doing some serious cramming of his own, she could see he was flying through the passages without any difficulty whatsoever.

When the boy in the long-sleeved, oriental white top and black pants sensed the girl's eyes boring into him, Gohan looked across at her and cracked a smile. "What's up, Videl? Are you stuck?"

The young fighter sighed and tapped the surface of her page, "I just can't get Part D of question eighteen… the one with the complex geometry sequence. Part A was easy, since it asked me to find the number of shapes and matches, but now the book's asking me to think ahead of the table and to try and find values that just aren't there."

Gohan smiled and leaned across to give her his two-cents on the matter. Without even having to read the question to realize the problem, he began running his pencil over her sheet, "It's essentially asking you to look for a basic number pattern while including the unknowns in the final answer. Just use the equation you were able to come up with in Part C, add the value of X to the formula, and you're home free."

Finally figuring out the answer after a quick look over, Videl shook her head and grinned. "Oh. I see! Thanks." She then began going through it as quick as she could, while at the same time being watched over by her ever cheerful friend and mentor. "Hey, this math stuff isn't so hard after all."

"Wait till you get to the Year 12 material. Then you're in for a real shock."

"Well… as long as I have you for a teacher, then I don't think I'll have anything to worry about," the teen replied, beaming across at the boy after only filling in a third of her answers. A smile framed her face as she fixed a warm gaze upon the Saiyan warrior. "You're the best, Gohan… at fighting and at schoolwork."

The young male chuckled and rubbed his head sheepishly, "You can thank my parents for pulling me in both directions."

Videl giggled as well and rested her chin on her hand, "You know what… I think I will."

While the pair shared a laugh with each other, they were unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of a familiar groan and looked over their shoulders to see Zangya standing by the bookshelf. Having apparently snuck into the room without their knowing, the pair saw the alien woman looking over the stacks of texts and flicking through a book on advanced chemistry.

Skimming over page after page, the Hera then breathed an exasperated sigh and shook her head, "I don't see how the hell you can understand any of this stuff. It all looks like incomprehensible gibberish to me."

Gohan rolled his eyes, "That's because you haven't learned anything about earth sciences… or any of the other prerequisite topics for that matter."

"Yeah, well… it's not like I need any of this math and theory stuff to butt heads with an intergalactic monster or anything like that," Zangya replied, smirking as she shut the text and slid it back into its place with the others. Placing a hand on her hip, she then turned to smile at the teenagers working at the desk, "I'm into more simple things, like entertainment, clothing, fashion, and television… stuff like that. At least with those things I don't have to think so hard and can understand what's going on."

The raven haired girl shook her head, "Maybe you should think about getting a job in one of those areas." She then raised an eyebrow, "You… alien guys _do_ work, don't you?" Her inquisitive gaze then switched over to Gohan, whom she saw scratch his head thoughtfully.

"Well… I know that Piccolo doesn't work. He just flies around from place to place and meditates most of the time. But that's normal for him. Dende's the guardian of the earth so there's no helping that. Mr. Popo is his advisor, Krillin's part-time in construction like me, Tien's working as a farmer with Chiaotzu, and Yamcha has gotten back into Major League Baseball. As far as I'm concerned, the only one who's currently living somewhere but not working is Vegeta."

Videl scoffed at that, "Bulma should think about kicking that guy out of the house to go find a job… or at least something constructive to do with his life."

"Yeah. But think about the resume he would have to type up," the hybrid warrior replied before beginning to scroll through the air with his hand in marketing fashion. "Name: Vegeta. Education: _**None**_. Employment History: Prince of all Saiyans and foot soldier under the _Planet Trade Organization_ run by Lord Frieza, who is currently deceased. Hobbies: Training and beating people to a bloody pulp." The more he said the more Videl had to stifle her laughter, as did Zangya. "Trust me. The last thing you want to see is that guy in a MgRonald's uniform doing customer service."

"Actually… that would be the first thing I would want to see," Zangya snickered behind the demi-Saiyan, who was also grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah. Me too," Videl also said.

"Okay, okay, cards on the table; that would be pretty funny. But in all seriousness, I don't think he would be able to hold down a decent job without leveling the place he'd end up working at." To be frank, he was more concerned about the customers and the people Vegeta would be 'helping', rather than the Saiyan Prince himself.

That guy could walk through just about anything with barely even a flinch. The only thing he couldn't really take was social activity, due to his prideful nature and violent upbringing. It was a character trait everyone had come to tolerate over the many years of knowing him.

"Vegeta _is_ the highly competitive type. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us," Gohan continued, shrugging while fixing his attention back onto his work, but not before glancing at the still grinning Hera behind him. "I'll show you how to write up a resume after our training session this afternoon, okay Zangya?"

The orange haired woman nodded, "Sure."

With a plan made and set, the half-Saiyan and his best friend returned to their studying. But just as they were starting to get into their routine again, the hybrid warrior was once again interrupted from his reading when he felt a tug on his shirt. Looking down to his right, he saw the familiar face of his kid brother, adorned in a similar oriental outfit he'd worn when he was younger, beaming up at him.

"Oh, hey there, little man," Gohan exclaimed, reaching over and gently picking the happy Goten up. "When did you get here?" The sight of the child inevitably drew Videl and Zangya's attentions over to him as well.

Videl giggled, "Hey, Goten."

"Wow. For a toddler he sure gets around a lot," the Hera-seijin chuckled, watching as the older brother sat his sibling in his lap. As soon as he did, the Goku miniature reached up and started playing with his older brother's face, making boisterous noises at the same time. "What an energetic little runt."

"Yeah. Ever since he learned how to walk he's been running up and down this house like there's no tomorrow," Gohan chuckled, feeling Goten pull at his cheek before reaching over to play with Videl's finger when she reached over to poke him. After playing around with his older brother and sister figure, the child then turned in the half-Saiyan's lap and focused his attention on the sheets of paper in front of him.

Looking them over, he then pointed at a document and looked up at his brother, "Oh, oh…"

"Hm?" Gohan's eyes fell on the paper Goten was pointing at. "You want to learn how to do math as well?" The vigorous nod the child gave next was all the answer the demi-Saiyan needed and he quickly shuffled them forward. "Alright then, squirt. If that's what you want. Most of this stuff is a little bit too complicated for you, so let's start off with something simple." He then one-handedly pulled up a blank sheet of graph paper and began writing big numbers on it. Once he was done, he then pointed to the first, "Okay, Goten. Welcome to your first day of school…" He then bounced the boy on his knee, earning a playful laugh from the toddler, and directed the child's gaze to the worksheets in front of him. "See this? This is the number one. Can you say that, Goten? _One_?"

Pointing down at the number, the half-Saiyan child made a few happy sounds and poked the symbol made in pen. "One…"

"Yes. That's good. Well done." Gohan then playfully poked his baby brother in the side, drawing another giggle from him.

Crawling his hands forward on the desk, Goten then pointed at the number next to the one Gohan had drawn. "One. One."

"No. No. That's the number two," Gohan chuckled, a light laugh also leaving an observing Videl's lips as she watched the young warrior lead his kid brother through the texts. "Two comes after one. One… two." He showed Goten on his fingers before then pointing down at the number. "This is the number two."

"Two," Goten repeated, pointing at the scribble.

"Yes. That's the number two," Gohan continued, before then pointing at the others. "All of these are numbers. Numbers are what we use for counting, adding and taking away stuff, which is really important for us. These are only the first ten." He then smiled at his baby brother, who gazed at him with that curiously cute expression of his. "Do you understand, Goten?"

Blinking a couple of times as he processed his older brother's words, the toddler looked back at the paper, glanced over the numbers, before smiling and then pointing at the one at the end. "TEN!"

Gohan smiled brightly in response, "Yes, Goten. That's right."

For the next hour after that the older brother spent playing with his brother at his desk, going through all the small numbers with him and even making a little game out of it. During this time, Videl also played around with the little tyke, getting him to read a few words to help with his vocabulary before then moving back into her work, while Zangya pottered around close by.

As the orange haired female was busy engrossing herself in one of the novels Gohan kept close to his main collection, she suddenly felt a tug on her pant leg and looked down to see Goten standing right next to her. Obviously having had his fill of playtime with his older counterpart, the toddler immediately went over to the woman he'd often seen wandering around their property, and decided to hang out with her for a little while. So, smiling cutely at her, the hybrid began playfully clapping his hands onto her leg as she set the book down beside her.

The Hera smirked, "What? See something funny, little man?" When the boy stared up at her curiously, inspecting the girl's face and hair, the child then giggled and clambered up onto her leg. Not wanting him to hurt himself, Zangya helped the young explorer up till he was sitting on her lap and facing her. "Goten, huh? It's nice to finally meet you," she spoke in a mature tone of voice, one that had the baby laugh and wave his hands around. Upon which the warrior woman then gave the child a nod of greeting. "I'm Zangya. I used to be your big brother's enemy, but now we're good friends and sparring partners… and that means I'm a pretty tough cookie. So you better behave yourself, mister."

Staring at her quietly after her little warning, the young Goten then tilted his head a couple of times before, from out of nowhere, he smiled brightly and reached out to the woman. "Zangya-oneechan."

His exclamation had the Hera recoil, "What? N-No. Wait a second. I'm not your…"

"Zangya-oneechan."

"Oneechan-nothing, you little runt. It's Zangya. Just Zangya."

"Zangya-oneechan!"

"No, God damn it! I'm not your big sister. Geez, did your annoying brother tell you to call me that?" the orange haired woman growled, earning a giggle of amusement from the child who then pulled on her hair when he managed to grab some. "Ow, ow, ow. Don't do that." Quickly freeing herself from the boy's surprisingly powerful grip, the Hera then tried to stop the kid's flailing hands with her own. It was then she noticed Gohan and Videl looking at her from across the room, the former grinning while the latter was trying to stop herself from laughing.

The sight of the pair staring at her had Zangya blush and turn away to try and hide her embarrassment. "Not a word to anyone-OW!" Her lapse in attention allowed Goten to grab hold of her hair a second time.

XXX

(Several Days Later)

"Your brother is really adorable, Gohan," the chirpy voice of Lime spoke up as she and Gohan watched the little Goten play out in one of her village's meadows. Smiling brightly when she saw the child scamper after a grasshopper, the girl in the yellow dress beamed up at the raven haired hybrid standing alongside her. "He reminds me so much of you."

The young male adorned in the white oriental shirt chuckled, "You think so?"

"Of course. I mean, haven't you noticed the similarities?" the brown haired girl asked, shuffling closer to her friend while they leaned against the stone fence surrounding the pristine field. "His expression, his eyes, his smile, his laughter… they're all the same as yours. The only thing that's a little bit different is your hair." She then reached up and tugged on one of her pigtails, a gesture which drew the boy's attention over to her. "Yours is really not that far off from his."

"I guess you're right," Gohan replied, smile widening as he then reached up and pulled at his locks. "I'm still trying to think of a new style to put it in. This one's kind of lost its pizzazz"

"Hmm…" Lime massaged her chin as she looked at her friend from an angle. When she saw him turn to her so that they were face to face, an idea quickly popped into her head and she grinned. "You should go with the style you had in your blonde haired form; the one where it was all spiked up and standing on end."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But make it a little bit shorter. That way it won't get caught on anything while you're fighting or running around," the girl replied, at the same time reaching up to brush some strands out of the way. "I'm actually thinking of getting mine cut too."

Gohan gave her a more considerate look immediately after she said that, "You don't need to get it done right away. I think your hair looks great the way it is."

The child blushed a little from his compliment and glanced up at the teen, who remained blissfully unaware of the significance behind his little remark. "Really, Gohan?"

"Uh-huh," the teen nodded, at the same time smiling at her cheerfully.

Running her fingers over the braided locks hanging next to her, the girl in the yellow and white polka dot dress nodded her head in acknowledgement of the boy's statements, "Thanks. I'll… I'll think about it." It was then Lime turned to him with a brilliant smile on her face, "Hey. My good friend Miyagi-san is really good at cutting and styling hair. You could come down and see him if you want to get a trim sometime later. I'd probably be able to get you a good discount for it."

The half-Saiyan considered her words for a moment, upon which he then responded with a shrug, "Sure. Why not? I think I'd like that." He then grinned at her, "Thanks, Lime."

"Anytime," the girl chirped.

Returning his gaze to the field while his friend beside him laced her fingers in front of her and rocked from side to side in a bashful manner, Gohan saw his little brother fall onto the grass and giggle when the grasshopper he was chasing landed on his nose. For the next few minutes after that he and Lime watched the child roll around and try to catch the little critter, this time going after him on all fours like a cat.

After standing there and seeing the child scramble about all by his lonesome, Lime decided to get up and have a bit of fun as well. Giggling when she hopped out onto the grassy field, the teen then hunched her back, brought her hands up into claws and gave a mock growl, at the same time advancing on the spiky haired youngster. "Rargh. I'm coming to get you, Goten."

Seeing the girl approaching him in a very Godzilla like manner, Goten gave a startled cry and ran for it. Laughing boisterously, he started running round in circles with the brown haired girl in hot pursuit.

Watching the pair jogging laps around each other caused Gohan to laugh and shake his head. _"Just like Videl,"_ he thought, remembering the time his best friend did something very similar with his brother a few weeks ago.

Even though she and Lime looked completely different, they were still alike in many other ways, right down to their hotheaded and feisty personalities.

Deciding to join in as well, the spiky haired Saiyan ran out and spoke up in a heroic sounding voice, "Don't worry, Goten! I'll save you!" Skidding to a stop when his little brother ran up to hide behind his leg, the boy leaned over to scoop up the child before being tackled to the ground by Lime. Making sure to loosen up so he didn't hurt the girl by accident, the group of three laughed outright as they began play fighting across the ground.

Even though the weeks out in the Mount Paozu region were often slow and mundane, it was days like this that the half-Saiyan and his friends enjoyed the most …

XXX

(A few weeks later)

Standing underneath the shade of an apple tree not too far from the Son family home, which could be seen sitting peacefully at the bottom of the hill, a certain white-haired figure had unexpectedly dropped by for a visit. With her arms folded, red scarf hanging around her neck and adorned in the same figure hugging uniform she'd worn to the _World Martial Arts Tournament_, Paprika currently had her sights set on the small, dome-like structure and the family she could see playing around in front of it.

Over the past several months, the Makyan had been making frequent trips from her training spots scattered across the continent to this place. Every time she did, the young demon always made sure to keep her distance, while at the same time suppressing her energy level as low as possible. This was to make sure that the people in the area who were capable of reading ki signatures didn't pick up on hers while she was watching them, a technique she affectionately referred to as 'stealth mode'.

After all, she was neither a friend of theirs nor was she an acquaintance of their group, especially to the spiky haired teenager living in the little shack he called home.

"_Look at that brute; acting all happy, innocent and cheerful,"_ Paprika thought, eyes narrowing as she watched Gohan, currently dressed in Piccolo's gi, crawl around on the grass with his baby brother sitting on his back. When she saw the teen giggle as his brother happily tugged on his top like a reign, the Makyan frowned, _"Well you don't fool me, you orange-wearing trash. I know exactly what kind of person you are." _Also watching them from a few yards away was their mother, Chi-Chi, and the Hera female standing alongside her, the former of whom was smiling warmly at the sight of her two children playing together.

The reason Paprika dropped by today was simple. She was keeping tabs on her arch enemy's training regimen to see how much stronger he was getting. By dropping in every now and then to get an update on his progress, the Makyan was able to gain a firm grasp as to how much more powerful the boy was getting in comparison to her. Considering how often he exercised every morning, noon and night, she suspected he had to be getting somewhere with his workouts.

As a result of her incredibly discreet observations, over the past several months the girl had noticed a subtle increase in the boy's power and skill, which irritated her somewhat because it appeared that his strength was growing at the exact same rate that hers was. The fact that he kept his power level suppressed most of the time and rarely transformed into a Super Saiyan during his training sessions made the process of getting an exact bead on his power increases all the more frustrating for her, as she couldn't get an accurate reading from him.

However, determined to learn more about her nemesis in order to prepare herself for the next time they met, Paprika persisted. Coming to the same spot in the middle of every week, the girl would take up position under the same tree, stand there for the entire day, and watch him.

Sure, every now and again she would break away to get some meditation and _Image Training_ in to keep up her strength, but for most of those twenty-four hours she would stand there and observe his actions. And each and every time she did so she found herself baffled by the fact that such a powerful warrior, who's fighting spirit was capable of matching any seasoned martial artist, could regress to such a childish ball of innocence.

"_He's like this every single day. When he's not focusing on his training, he's always bouncing around and grinning like an idiot. It's absurd,"_ Paprika grumbled in her head, looking on as another hour ticked by and she saw the teen walk back into the house with his family.

From her spot she watched Gohan return to his desk at his bedroom window to study. Though she couldn't see exactly what he was working on, she knew that it had to be one of his more advanced literary titles. She could also sense the mother was inside the house pottering around the dining area, along with that orange haired woman who seemed to be occupying herself in the living room.

Things quieted down from that point onwards, leaving Paprika standing on the hill in silence. Continuing to watch the house like a hawk, the white haired Makyan became so engrossed in her studying of her enemy's mannerisms and activities that she failed to notice a presence sneaking up behind her. It wasn't until a few seconds later did she eventually pick up the sound of a giggle, which had her turn around slowly and look down.

It was there she saw the one year old Goten standing there in green and yellow oriental clothing smiling up at her.

"Hello," the hybrid child exclaimed, eyes shimmering in wonder as he stared up at the Makyan.

Paprika, not at all surprised by his appearance, acknowledged his presence with a notable air of caution.

Straightening up and puffing her chest out, she fixed the boy with an impassive gaze. "Go away." Receiving nothing but a giggle in response, the Makyan frowned even deeper and waved at him. "Go." Unfortunately this didn't have any effect either as little by little, Goten ambled towards her. Paprika shook her head at him. "No. Go away," she said in the nicest and calmest voice possible.

However, despite her best efforts, she was unable to do anything when the demi-Saiyan suddenly latched onto her legs and hugged her, causing Paprika to recoil a little.

The demon scowled down at the boy wrapped around her shins. "I don't like children."

Her words were promptly ignored… or simply misunderstood. Because as soon as he was done hugging her leg, Goten held his arms up towards her and made a grabbing gesture with his hands. "Up. Up."

With an exasperated sigh, Paprika hesitantly reached down and picked the needy child up, yet held him at arm's length just to be safe. Using the opportunity to her advantage, she spent the next couple of minutes analyzing the boy, looking him over while he stared back at her innocently. After a long pause, the Makyan grunted. "It's so… _ugly_ you can almost feel sorry for it." Despite her rather harsh comment, Goten simply smiled back at the girl and laughed joyously, earning a raised eyebrow from the white haired fighter.

Bringing him in to get a closer look, Paprika was caught a little bit off guard when the half-Saiyan reached forward and grabbed the horns on her head, giving them a light squeeze. The Makyan blinked a few times when she felt Goten hold them and eventually let go, allowing her to lean away and look down at the child, who continued to use his hands to explore her shoulders. Tugging on her scarf, the child eventually allowed his hands to fall back to his sides and beamed at the stranger.

Once she was sure the hybrid was satisfied, Paprika gently set him to the ground and watched him turn away. "Go along. Go. Go." She then allowed the child to scamper off, the youngster jogging back down the hill and towards the house. Goten soon became interested in a couple of butterflies fluttering about and decided to chase them instead.

Paprika looked on as the child went about playing in the pasture, narrowing her eyes and watching the tyke chase after a wide variety of insects. During that time she found her gaze pulled across to another part of her hill, where she spotted Gohan's Namekian friend Piccolo standing nearby with his arms crossed and his glare fixated upon her.

Merely frowning at the former guardian of the planet and not too keen on starting something out here with him, the Makyan returned to watching the house quietly.

As it turns out, her sleuthing during the past half a year hadn't gone completely unnoticed.

XXX

(Meanwhile)

In a spiral galaxy millions of light years away from earth, far out of reach of what was previously recognized as Frieza space, there floated an enormous planetoid. Larger than earth and completely artificial in its composition, the terrestrial world had the appearance of several planets molded together to form a multi-sphere like planet, which had several moons and asteroid belts orbiting it. Looking at it from a distance, not only were there signs of massive expansion and construction, but the billions of lights dotting it from the Northern-most hemisphere to the south indicated a thriving populace and a bountiful empire living on its surface.

The five-planet structure was in fact one huge city, and the capital of the empire that existed in this part of the universe.

Past the traffic moving around it and through its artificial magnetic field and atmosphere, were countless miles of city and metallic landscape. It was literally a scene taken right out of a sci-fi film and multiplied a thousand times over, with no two buildings bearing the same design.

While the billions of people moving through the streets and vehicles crisscrossing the skies was indeed an impressive sight, what was even more extraordinary was what lay in the heart of the community.

The empire's parliament. Jutting into the sky like the Tower of Babble itself, with an open reactor built into its side that had a tiny sun glowing between its stabilizers, a dome-like structure at its base, and countless other buildings lying underneath its shadow, the place pretty much screamed 'command center'. It was here, in a chamber somewhere on the ground floor, the rulers of the planet and the heads of government were holding a very important meeting.

It was this particular gathering that a very familiar, glowing haired young traveler was hoping to crash.

Strolling down the well-lit corridor in her figure-hugging plug suit, passing by a multitude of aliens left and right, most notably guards adorned in Saiyan Battle Armor and helmets, the cheerfully humming Kana was slowly making her way towards the room. Whistling to herself a jaunty tune, one she'd come to favor from the variety of music she'd downloaded from earth, the young woman was all set to intrude on the assembly.

That was until a voice from behind caught her attention.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

Glancing over her shoulder, Kana's gaze fell upon a person she almost immediately mistook for Frieza. However, after a moment of inspecting the short alien figure with the horns and tail, she saw that, despite bearing a striking resemblance to Frieza's first form, the mercenary differed from the tyrant in a variety of different ways. Chief among which included his red skin with white carapace pieces covering his cranium, chest, torso, hips, forearms and shins, a couple of which protruded from his shoulder and hip areas, and horns growing from the sides of his head. The pieces were also decorated in purple plates, much like the feared alien conqueror before him.

Despite the newcomer's intimidating appearance, the taller Kana recognized the person as a close companion of hers and smiled in greeting. "Hey, Froze. Long time no see."

"Yeah. Long time." With his tail swishing behind him and arms folded, the alien fell in step with the glowing haired girl and smirked in her direction, "It's certainly been a few months since the last time you were here. If you actually dropped in more than once every yellow moon, we wouldn't have to greet each other in the same manner over and over again."

"What? In a hallway heading up to the main office to hand in our annual reports?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah well… there's a lot to see and do out there in the universe and I've only explored a hundred-thousandth of it… so you know I've got a lot more to do on my list," the Seirei replied, beaming brightly while brushing a few strands of radiant locks out of her face. "Besides… you wouldn't believe the kind of people I've met over my last year of travel. It was great."

"I'll bet. You always did have a friendly and approachable air about you," the Frieza lookalike replied while closing his eyes, continuing to walk alongside his colleague as they passed by several more guards and began advancing upon a large set of doors at the end of the hallway. "Of course, considering our line of work, I can only imagine the kind of characters you could've possibly run into while hopping from planet to planet." The carapace alien then raised a brow, "Speaking of which, what kind of worlds did you end up bagging this time around?"

"Only a handful," Kana replied, turning to the tailed alien while holding up what looked like a USB device for him to see. The sight of the chip quickly had Froze's attention. "Most of them didn't have any guardians, so I grabbed them before anyone else had a chance too. One of them was a small rocky planetoid with an actual magnetic field and had a small race of marsupials living on it. The other one is a world made up entirely out of ore."

"Sounds like you got yourself a good catch."

The Seirei nodded her head enthusiastically, "And what about you?"

"Only a couple. One of them was a forest world that was orbiting a gaseous giant with a race of blue cats living on it and a moon with pure silver dust covering its surface. Out of the ten, those were the only two that I was able to flag that had any sort of safeguarding value."

"Aww, lucky. You actually managed to get a Terra type?"

"Uh-huh. Disappointed?"

"Of course I am. How could a newbie like you get his hands on a forest planet?"

"Simple. You just need to know the right people. It's your fault for not going to the outer reaches of the Northern Quadrant in the first place, so stop whining and let me savor the moment," Froze replied with a cocky smile, at the same time stopping before the giant doors and showing the guards his credentials. "You'd be surprised at what you can find out in that part of space."

After flashing her holographic I.D to the heavily armored men at the gates, the glowing haired girl glanced across at the tailed scavenger brightly, "If you ventured to the regions of space _I_ visited, I'm sure that you'd be in for one hell of a shock." Kana's remark had the tailed alien look at the glowing haired traveler in confusion, moments before the two guards opened the doors for them.

Entering a large, circular chamber with a spotlight illuminating the middle of the hall, the two freelancers quickly noticed a collection of figures sitting behind a length of desks at the back. Adorned in decorated armor and robes, and positioned high up on the bench like they were on a pedestal, the group of aliens was currently going through a series of hologram-like documents and engaged in an intense discussion with one another.

Quietly approaching the center and stepping into the spotlight, Kana and Froze waited until the group of leaders acknowledged their presence. As it turns out, it was the one sitting on the highest bench, a tall man with effeminate features, teal skin and white hair tied back into a ponytail, who spotted them first.

"Ah. Kana. Froze. I was expecting you two to show up eventually," the alien spoke up in a cool sounding voice, a small smile crossing his face as he set his holo-pad down to address his visitors. "It's great to see you again."

The moment they fell under the leaders' gazes, the carapace alien and the glowing Seirei bowed to them in greeting.

"Chancellor Ging," Kana said, smiling up at the planet's head as soon as she returned to a proper standing position. "You're looking well. Did you get a haircut?"

The man on the bench chuckled, "I could ask the same thing about you, Kana. It's been two years, but you still look like the same, radiant freelancer I remember seeing the last time you visited. You're wearing the exact same uniform too." He folded his arms and leaned forward on the table to peer down at the travelers. "You Seirei truly are one of a kind."

The compliment had the radiant being roll her eyes, "That's probably the twentieth time you've said that to me. You should get out more often and hit the bars instead of keeping yourself cooped up inside this dingy tower. Honestly, the lack of sunlight is starting to show." She then waved a finger at the leader playfully, earning an odd glance from the composed Froze standing beside her.

"I'll make a note of that," Ging replied, adjusting his seat and looking between the pair curiously. "So… I assume your missions to your parts of space were successful."

Kana smiled and held up her USB stick, at the same time the tailed alien next to her reached behind him and pulled out a circular box. "Bit compiled a full, detailed record of my journey through Sectors 10 through 30 of the Northern Quadrant. I even managed to gather some new data on my way through. It took me a while, but I managed to get it all in order."

When the girl approached the desk and floated up to the chancellor's level, the teal-skinned leader raised an eyebrow in interest, "I trust you didn't run into any trouble while you were flying through those regions over the past year. Perhaps you landed on a couple of 'hot spots' that prompted you to delay your return to Valkorra."

The man's inquiry had Kana shrug brazenly, "You know me. I just couldn't resist stopping by that resort planet for a little R&R. It was great." She added to this by giving the man a wink.

"I'll bet it was," Ging murmured blankly, reaching over and collecting the piece the girl handed to him before setting it down on the tablet in front of him. "Word on the band said that you also encountered something very interesting while investigating Terra 4032-877… something about… battling a golden-haired warrior of a believed to be a now extinct race." He then tilted his head at the young wanderer with a smile. "Care to explain that little discrepancy to us?" You could tell from his expression that he was more than interested in the subject, as were the rest of the men and women who were present.

Smiling mischievously, the glowing warrior flicked her hair out of the way and gradually descended back down to the floor, "Sorry, boss. I'm afraid that that's a little story for another time."

A chuckle shortly followed her response, "Fair enough. Either way, I trust that you were able to handle the situation accordingly." He then took the USB stick and shoved it into his board, at about the same time Froze approached the bench.

The tailed alien held his circular pad up to the leader, at the same time levitating off the ground to reach him. "When can we expect payment on these units?"

Ging, taking the device from the carapace traveler, smiled in his direction, "Impatient as always, eh Froze?" Meeting the unflinching gaze of the young warrior, the teal-skinned ruler of the _Planet Trade Organization_ waved at him. "Don't worry. We'll be sure to transmit the necessary funds over to your account as soon as these worlds have been processed, which should take about seven to ten days. I'll have the military send out an expedition party to the planets you've added to the registry and see to it that they're set up for preservation." Seeing the short alien bow in response and float back to the ground to rejoin Kana, the leader quickly went about processing the data on his pad.

However, just as he was about to sign the pair's submissions and file them away for safe keeping, there was a loud beep from his desk which quickly had him look down and engage the communicator. "Yes?"

An anxious voice stammered back over the radio, _**"Chancellor Ging. We've got a Code Red. I repeat; Code Red. He's here…"**_

The teal-skinned man balked, "What? Here?!"

"_**Yes sir. H-He's right outside the-"**_ The transmission was suddenly cut off.

Just as the heads of the _Planet Trade Organization_ turned to look at each other in alarm, the entrance to the chamber was suddenly kicked in, causing a deafening bang to echo throughout the hall. The force of the doors being thrown open was so great that upon slamming into the wall, one of them was literally blasted off its hinges, an anomaly that quickly drew the complete attention of every person in that room.

As soon as all eyes landed on the destroyed gateway, the party of two dozen individuals spotted the silhouette of a large man with a hulking frame walk into view. His footsteps causing the ground to tremble, the now silent committee watched silently as the newcomer drew closer and closer, before eventually stepping into the light.

The moment his form bled into view, the once confused Kana, who'd initially paid the violent opening of the doors little mind, soon had her eyes widen in terror.

Her gaze slowly wandering up the giant figure, the Seirei found herself looking upon an enormous alien with grey skin resembling the texture of granite and a body decked out in heavy battle armor. His legs, each sporting two large toes on each foot, were covered in dark red plated boots that made a mechanical whirring sound with every step and rode up his thighs. His pelvis, torso and chest were also covered in a similar black and red spandex armor, with a glowing green glass piece in the center of the chest. Looking further across, the alien also wore red shoulder pauldrons with a similar optical dial on both sides and massive steel gauntlets wrapped around both his forearms.

Despite having a thin, athletic waist and sturdy legs, the man's arms were massive and bulging with layers upon layers of muscles with strange black, vent-like rods drilled into several key points, including his gauntlets, shoulders and back. On top of having claws instead of fingers, a bald head with a noticeable scar over his right eye and blood red eyes with no pupils or irises, his mouth and nose were covered by a breathing mask, with tubes fitted into his suit that helped circulate air.

Though he did have this glaring handicap on his person, the hulk of a creature had no problems in moving whatsoever, as indicated by how he marched straight up to the bench, stopped in the center of the chamber, and dumped a pile of ten freshly killed bodies onto the floor right in front of the leaders.

Revealing the cadavers to be a platoon of soldiers belonging to the _Planet Trade Organization_, as indicated by their Saiyan battle armor, the Chancellor and his fellow rulers gawked at the pile before nervously looking up at the newcomer.

By this point in time both Kana and Froze had backed away to the side, while the soldiers guarding the chamber had come to surround the creature with their weapons cocked and loaded. Though from the looks on their terrified faces, every single one of the men and women there immediately began regretting their decisions to step forward, as they had serious doubts about their abilities to stop this man if he tried anything.

His presence was obviously overwhelming.

Chancellor Ging swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes on their intruder, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing here?" the alien snapped angrily in a menacing, gargling-tone of voice, his words bouncing off of the chamber walls and causing all those sitting on the bench to flinch. He stepped closer to the ruler, his height being so great that he literally towered over the judge's seat, which was positioned about four meters above the ground. "I'm submitting a complaint directly to your organization. That's what I'm doing."

The teal skinned alien sweated nervously when the towering fiend got right up into his face, "I see."

His own glare tightening, the giant pointed down at the corpses at his feet, "Now… would you care to explain to me why I found these pirates wandering around _my_ territory?"

As the hulking figure had it out with the chancellor, Froze saw through his peripheral vision that Kana was still staring anxiously at the newcomer. Taking note of the beads of sweat running down her face and the way her fists were nervously clenched, the tailed alien knew right then and there that something was wrong with her and turned to her in concern.

"Hey. Who's the brute with the acute skin condition?"

The orange haired girl's frown deepened, "Varax."

Her response had the tailed alien look at her in surprise. "Varax?" Repeating the name a couple of times, the red-skinned carapace traveler then looked at the Seirei in surprise, "Wait. I think I've heard that name before…"

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," Kana immediately replied, her brow narrowing as she watched the confrontation unfold before her. "He's a vicious warlord from a race of aliens known as the Korgoth, who went extinct over eighty million years ago." She then nodded towards the man in question. "According to the records on my home planet, he's now the last surviving member of that race."

Froze looked across at the colossal alien in disbelief. "How in the name of Kai is someone like him still alive?"

"His home planet Gon originated from the very center of the cosmos. The life-force of his people were said to be the greatest of all the ancient races, making him damn near ageless. The fact that over half of his body is now made up of cybernetic implants puts him just a step below immortal," Kana replied, not taking her eyes off of the warlord for a second as she continued informing Froze of their guest's history. "Don't let his appearance and respiratory mask fool you. Varax is regarded as the most dangerous being in the universe for a reason. Even the Kais stay clear of him. He's conquered hundreds of galaxies and destroyed countless planets, and is responsible for creating several black holes. He is so feared in fact, there's not a single biological life form willing to work for him, so he uses autonomous workers to do most of his labor."

Regarding this news with extreme caution, Froze then turned his attention to the dead bodies lying on the floor. "What exactly did he mean by 'my territory'?"

"Over eighty million years ago, Varax conquered and took control of a portion of space known as the _Helix Realm_, a dangerous and wild part of the universe that exists in the far reaches of the quadrant," Kana informed, clenching her jaw uneasily when she saw the alien continue to exchange harsh words with the Chancellor. "No one from any of the four sectors is allowed to cross into his territory… but apparently these idiots did and got themselves caught by his scouts."

There was reason for her fear and frustration. Even though she couldn't sense the warlord's ki or life-force due to the fact that half of the man's body was artificial, Kana knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was ridiculously powerful.

Even at her absolute maximum, she wouldn't be able to even scratch him without having her skull crushed between his fingers.

When the pair fell silent, they were able to listen in as the conversation between Ging and Varax carried on, slowly but surely reaching a crescendo.

"Why were your soldiers scouting my planets?"

"I was unaware that any of our troops were positioned in your area," Ging replied with a nervous glare. "They were probably just acting on their own accord. Believe me, this is all just a simple misunderstanding."

Narrowing his eyes upon the man in the high seat, the hulking conqueror brought a hand up and slammed it down upon his part of the bench. He cracked the metal under the force. "Do you think I'm blind? Just because you're under the protection of Lord Beerus and the Gods of the Seventh Universe, doesn't mean you and your precious _Planet Trade Organization_ can go about doing whatever you please. No amount of loyalty to your deities will protect you from the amount of hell I can bring down upon you."

"You know the rules as well as I do, Varax," the Chancellor retorted quickly, "If you're looking for compensation for the intrusion, then I will gladly give it to you."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say because the moment the words left his mouth the giant alien suddenly reached forward, grabbed the man by the front of his armor, and lifted him out of his seat. Despite not reacting beyond a wince, the rest of the audience in attendance recoiled in shock as they then saw Varax shake the man like a ragdoll.

"I can't be bribed like some mongrel pup, you worm," the grey-skinned conqueror growled, his blood red eyes boring into the man's soul. "Compensation is not what I'm looking for."

Ging cringed painfully as sweat continued to trickle down his head, "Then what is it that you want?"

It was this that had Varax leer, "_Everything_." A low snarl escaped his lips when he tilted his head at the man. "This isn't some mere trinket that you can simply hand over to me on a silver platter. No… this is something that can only be taken by force and I don't care how long it takes me. One way or another… I _will_ have it. Perhaps by then you will finally be seeing me in a new light." Allowing the words to roll off of his tongue, the intimidating warlord then glanced over his shoulder to see both Kana and Froze holding their hands up towards him, ready to attack. The guards in the room were also doing the exact same thing with their weapons and, despite shaking in their boots, were glaring at the titan hatefully.

After glancing around at the soldiers surrounding him, the towering alien then clenched his fist tightly, causing the muscles in his arm to bulk up in warning. "You'd better be _**very**_ _sure_." The sounds of his bones creaking echoed throughout the chamber.

Several seconds of consideration later, all of the soldiers in the room wisely decided to back down, including Kana, who smacked herself upside the head for acting so stupidly.

Once he saw all of the soldiers stand down, Varax turned back to his host and grunted. "It seems to me that your subordinates are forgetting their places, Ging. You need to teach them how to show proper respect to their guests. Their conduct is absolutely disgraceful." He then unceremoniously dumped Ging into his chair, before stepping away and beginning to walk towards the exit. Carelessly stepping over the bodies he'd dropped, the Korgoth stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Consider this visit a warning to all of you. The next time I catch someone from your organization encroaching upon my domain… mark my words; I will burn this entire place to the ground."

With that declaration made, the man marched through the entrance of the room and disappeared into a portal that opened up in front of him. The slip space rupture promptly closed behind him as soon as he was through, leaving behind a ruined chamber gateway and a sullied conference space.

The entire room sat and stood in dead silence, with sweat and shock reflected upon every person's face.

While Ging took a moment to adjust his top and Froze spent the next minute regaining his composure, Kana fixed a continuous glare on the space Varax had disappeared.

In spite of facing down what she could only describe as death incarnate, the Seirei was still conscious enough to acknowledge a single fact.

"_One day… someone will bring that prick down… I just know it…"_

Even though she wanted to, more than any other person in the galaxy, she sure as hell wouldn't be able to do it alone…

XXX

Over the next several months, life for the Z-fighters carried on as normal. The Sons and the Briefs started visiting each other more often, Gohan started training with Piccolo, Vegeta and Zangya more intensely, with the latter finally venturing out of the Mount Paozu area to get a job, and Videl's growth as a student and fighter was really starting to show itself. Needless to say, that year saw the realization of some of the most memorable times the defenders of earth had ever experienced, giving them the balance of rest and work they all deserved.

Whenever he wasn't outside training by himself or with his friends, Gohan spent his free time looking after his baby brother.

Thanks to his Saiyan genetics, Goten was an incredibly strong boy and a fast learner, something that his older brother and Videl found out over the following year when the little tyke began soaking in everything around him like a sponge. He learned how to add using multi-digit numbers, his literacy and speaking skills developed faster than any normal child would, and his basic motor functions jumped to that of a five year old, and he was still only two.

On top of that, the demi-Saiyan loved to run around. Constantly filled with boundless energy and a thirst for adventure that exhausted even the super mum Chi-Chi at how rambunctious he could be, the youngster was always going out to explore the fields and forests surrounding their property. His mother would often times watch him closely to see how far he would go, with Gohan, Zangya and Videl also keeping an eye on the child whenever they weren't busy. But Goten was always alert and active, even sneaking out whenever he noticed that everybody else was preoccupied.

He sure was a mischievous little ankle-biter, there was no arguing that.

Sometimes the hybrid would leave immediately after breakfast and go for a walkabout of the property, and would always come back at lunchtime dragging with him all sorts of miscellaneous items from his backyard adventure. This included dirty clothes, bugs, frogs, tree branches, lizards, possums, mud, and at one stage a young tyrannosaurus that Zangya had to chase off to stop from entering the house.

Needless to say, while the child could be a real handful at times, even for the super powered people living in the house, he was still a radiant star that the Son family adored and loved.

After the day Goten brought his second dinosaur home, Gohan assigned his trusted friend Icarus to keep an eye on his brother whenever he went out without them. Following his assignment of the task, the little pink dragon always, without fail, brought his sibling home safe and sound, knocking on the front door to let the family know they were back. Since he could sense his brother's ki signature within the general area, the older brother always had an eye on him and would always know whenever he was in trouble.

Thankfully, no problems ever came the young child's way.

Unbeknownst to the family of course, there were a couple other people keeping an eye on Goten as well. Not only was Piccolo always around and watching over the house, the little upstart always went out to find Paprika whenever she was in the area.

For some strange reason the Makyan just could not fathom, the spiky haired toddler always knew whenever she was near the house or meditating in the area. Whenever she dropped in to spy on Gohan, his baby brother always ran out of the house to greet her.

Maybe he had developed a subconscious form of ki reading that pinged whenever she was within range or maybe he always found her due to a series of improbable circumstances. Either way, Paprika just could not shake the little runt.

Whenever Goten did come out to say 'hello' or to play with her, the Makyan didn't do anything unpleasant to him or tried to hurt him. She simply tolerated his presence and, over the next few months, she eventually accepted the boy's company and allowed him and Icarus to hang out with her.

It was generally smooth sailing for all of the Z-fighters across the globe. There were plenty of days for them to stretch their legs and perfect the skills that they practiced. Without any enemies to fight, it was surprisingly easy to slack off for all those whose passions didn't reside in fighting and had other things to do with their lives. However, time was what they had plenty of and everyone was determined to fill it with as many things to do as they could.

On one particular day, Gohan, Zangya, Videl and Chi-Chi went for a trip to _Kame House_. With Goten in tow, the family met with their friends on the beach surrounding the home of the turtle hermit and went about enjoying their get-together in the usual manner.

While Goten played around with Trunks, Turtle and Puar outside under the watchful eye of Chi-Chi and Bulma, and Yamcha tended to a barbeque alongside Oolong, Master Roshi and Chiaotzu, Zangya and Android 18 sat indoors at the living room window and stared out over the ocean.

Since everybody was using the time there to catch up, the two women were also making the most of the day and using their moment together to bond. With the orange haired woman wearing boots, jean shorts and a black singlet top, a comfortable ensemble that coincided with Android 18's light blue leather vest, white pants and sandals, the two girls were all dressed for the beach.

Positioned there on the sill side by side, one standing with her arms folded and the other sitting comfortably with the sea breeze flowing by them, they both looked absolutely stunning.

Glancing across at her alien compatriot, the android gave her the usual cool stare, "So how's working life treating you?"

"It's going great, actually," Zangya replied, turning to the blonde with a small smile. "_Daeko_ is currently going through a new line of tops and bottoms that they're hoping to introduce to their summer catalogue for next week, so you can bet I'll be hitting the runway in a smoking hot new kit soon. After the last event I attended, I know this next shoot is going to be amazing."

The cyborg fighter smiled at the young woman's enthusiasm. "Sounds to me like you're having a lot of fun in that place."

"Oh yeah. No kidding," Zangya chuckled while looking out the window again. "I really have to thank Videl's dad for hooking me up with the agency and Gohan for helping me to write my resume. Those three really went out of their way for me on this one."

The Hera's response had Android 18 tilt her head and raise an eyebrow, "Exactly what kind of qualifications did you mention in your curriculum vitae to get you through the door, if I may ask?"

"Not many. Just all the stuff that I did know and everything in between; hobbies, interests, contact details… the usual," the blue-skinned woman replied while leaning against the window frame with a chuckle, "I guess prerequisites don't matter as much when you have the 'World Champ' recommending you to the place in person." She made sure to give the title a tasteful highlight in her recounting of the situation that led her into landing her current job. "The boss hired me right on the spot and set me to work the very next day. Can you believe that?"

Grunting lightly, the blonde haired android turned back towards the sea with a clearly amused expression. "With your looks and appeal, I'm not surprised everything's going well for you over there. There's just something about your face that screams 'exotic'."

"Oh, ha-ha," Zangya replied, taking into stride the jab at her extraterrestrial appearance while glancing over at the cyborg, "And what about you, Ms Number? How are things going over at your job?"

The android shrugged. "I can't complain. We've got some new stock coming in for the store, so I've got a lot of upcoming articles to look forward to for the summer. Want me to pick you up a set?"

"No, I'm good. Since I'm allowed to choose whatever I want from the company's wardrobe every week, I'm more than set in the clothing department. Too bad the only place I have to put them is in my work locker," the Hera quickly replied, earning an understanding nod from her companion. After that the pair sat in silence, watching the calm waters shimmer underneath the sun and the smell of the barbeque Yamcha was cooking drifting in from around the corner. Upon seeing Turtle crawl past with Goten and Trunks riding on his shell, and Puar hovering around them, Zangya then set her focus on another topic. "So… where're the other boys at? I haven't seen them since Tien showed up with Launch and Chiaotzu."

The blonde android shrugged, "Gohan told me he was taking Krillin out to the other islands for a quick sparring session with Videl. My guess is that they all left together and are now having it out with each other."

"Ah," the Hera replied, only to then turn when she sensed a presence approaching them.

When she and 18 looked behind them, they saw a woman with long curly blue hair, wearing a green sundress and an apron standing behind them and smiling pleasantly. She was also carrying with her a tray of ice-cold refreshments. "Hello there, you two. Would you like something to drink? It's really hot out here today and you two haven't had anything yet."

At first surprised by her appearance, Zangya smiled shortly afterwards and slowly helped herself to one of the beverages, "Sure. Thanks a lot." After grabbing an orange juice, along with 18 who gave a grateful nod to Launch's good side, the two women quickly returned to their conversation and began stirring their drinks. "Speaking of the boys, how are things going with Krillin?"

"Pretty well," 18 replied with a shrug.

The response drew a mischievous smirk from the alien fighter, "That's it? Pretty well?" She then shook her head, "Anything else you want to add on to that?"

"What do you expect me to say? Krillin is a very sweet, funny and handsome man with a good heart. Whenever I'm feeling down he's always there to cheer me up. Whenever we talk to each other he always wants to listen to what I have to say. And whenever we're out, he's always so thoughtful and considerate… and makes me feel like I belong. He accepts me completely for who I am," the blonde replied, eyes still fixed on the ocean as she thought about what else to say about the Z-fighter she was currently dating. "I really like how serious and straightforward he is, as well as how passionate he can be whenever he's really into something. After wandering around aimlessly for so long, not really knowing what to do, I guess you can say I've grown attached to that."

"Really?" Zangya asked, seeing the half-human nod before turning away to gaze thoughtfully down at the sand. "Wow. So… would you say that you've… fallen for the guy?"

Android 18's gaze snapped towards her momentarily. At first it looked like she wanted to protest. But after thinking on it for a moment, the blonde quickly regained her usual composure and turned away with a small smile.

"Mm." She nodded, giving the Hera all the answer she needed before the pair returned to staring at the horizon.

For the next couple minutes the two women remained there, quietly thinking and contemplating the big changes in their lives. Android 18 thought about how much her life had changed since the Cell Games, how much she enjoyed hanging out with Krillin and what her next steps were going to be. At the same time Zangya considered her time spent with Gohan and his family, and how he and all of his friends were shaping her into a whole other person; somebody who she could actually look in the mirror and smile at.

She also thought about how much more she could become a part of the group and how she could get strong enough to fight alongside Gohan as an equal.

Every day the boy was growing in both strength and maturity, and she wanted to be there to support him should a new danger suddenly come knocking on their front door, touch wood. This life that she currently had was one that was given to her… and she didn't want to spend the next few years wasting it.

If there was any time for decisive action, it was now.

As Zangya and 18 became engrossed in their conversation inside, Chi-Chi and Bulma were also enjoying one of their own out on the porch.

While watching her son dig through the sand alongside his friend, the raven haired woman in the oriental yellow robes sighed, "I remember when Gohan used to be around that age; sleeping in his bed, studying at his desk and wandering around the fields outside, exploring the wilderness. All those days seem so long ago now."

"Yeah. You can say that again," the scientist replied with an equally warm smile as memories of the time Goku introduced his first born to the group began to resurface. "Even though your son's still the same sweet, innocent little boy I remember he was when I first met him, he's grown so much over the last few years. Every time I see him whenever he drops by my place to say hi, I can't help but notice how much more grown up he seems." She looked across at her friend's wife standing beside her with her hands on her hips. "Are you worried?"

Chi-Chi beamed and shook her head, "As long as my son is happy and healthy, and making the most of his life, then I know he's going to be alright." She then glanced over at Capsule Corp's president, a sparkle evident in her eye. "If he's anything like his father was when he was young, then he'll always have a spring in his step and a warm glow in his cheeks, no matter how hard things get."

"Well… let's just hope things in the world stay exactly the way they are," Bulma chuckled, at the same time turning back to watch the two children frolic beside the water. "If you ask me, I think the earth is due for a few long years of peace, with no aliens, androids, demons, or any other monsters to worry about. While fighting for the boys may be fun and all, I prefer having days like this just relaxing on the beach and spending time with my family, thank you very much."

Giggling at how the scientist huffed and stuck her chest out, the Son mother then folded her arms and tilted her head. "How are things going back home? Is Vegeta still giving you grief?"

"Fortunately not. Thanks to his ridiculous training schedules, I'm actually able to get my work done around the office without having to worry about him breathing down my neck every few minutes. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having him around whenever I'm free. It's just that I've got a lot of projects to get done and I'd prefer working on them in peace," the blue haired woman informed with an exhausted sigh. "Even though I'm the boss of the company, the workload is still pretty stacked."

"Does this include the paperwork?"

"Oh, don't even get me started. The assignments and designing phases alone are a pain in the ass," Bulma continued, reaching up and giving her head a scratch. "Seriously, I'm working my fingers to the bone with the amount of computer work I've had to do. The company's biggest project at the moment is this thing we're currently making for the Royal Military. Apparently our friends over in central are in need of a special, surface-to-orbit cannon that'll be able to knock asteroids and other unfriendly objects out of the air before they have a chance to break through the planet's atmosphere."

Chi-Chi snorted at this, "Why would they need something like that when you have someone like Vegeta or my son on speed-dial?"

"Hey, Capsule Corp needs to make money somehow," Bulma said with a small smile in play. "They're paying millions of zeni through the nose for this thing, so I'm gonna make sure I get this done, no matter how long it takes me."

"Fair enough. Just try not to overwork yourself, alright? You don't want to give yourself grey hairs by the time you're in your late forties."

"Will do," the scientist responded with a grateful smile. Upon which she set her eyes on her son again, whom she could now see was trying to build a sand-mound that was bigger than Goten's. The sight of the two children competing had her chuckle, "I'll try to ease off of my little pet project for a little while as well. Maybe that will help relieve some stress."

"Hm? And what kind of project is that?"

"Oh, well… you remember that big, red-haired man in the green armor that appeared at the _Cell Games_ alongside Goku and the others?" Bulma asked her friend, to which she saw her nod. "Well, if Gohan hasn't already told you, he was an Android named Sixteen, one of the three that Doctor Gero created to hunt down and kill your husband." A small smile tugged at her lips when she said this and turned to face the sand at her feet. "After he was killed, the dragon balls didn't wish him back to life… maybe because he wasn't an actual living creature. Since I was able to get a detailed copy of his memory files and schematics while I was repairing him, I figured I could try and rebuild him… and make him even better than before. Considering the amount of stuff I have to get done, I could really use someone like him around the office to help me out."

The raven haired Son mother smiled brightly. "Sounds interesting. Hope you're able to get somewhere with it."

"Yeah. Me too," the blue haired woman whispered, at the same time turning her gaze back to her children and the stretch of ocean she could see before them.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

On an island not too far from _Kame House_, a series of explosions rocked the rolling hillsides that sent blasts of dust and rubble hurling into the sky. When the debris eventually rained back down to the ground, scattering across the pristine wilderness, two shadows darted out of the cloud. Skidding to a stop along the grass opposite one another and out of reach of the latest crater they'd formed with their attacks, the pair revealed themselves to be Tien and Gohan.

Both glaring at each other, the two Z-warriors turned to face their opponent, showing off a couple of bruises they'd received in their scrap thus far. While the tri-clops was sporting his usual attire consisting of green gi pants with red belt and a white shirt, Gohan was adorned in Piccolo's purple style of gi. Just like his friends, the young martial artist had decided to go on a cycle of uniforms to alter his looks and to emulate the two great teachers in his life.

While it was definitely in his nature to pull off a gesture like this, there really wasn't any logic to why he chose to wear either gi. He just found both outfits to be insanely comfortable.

In the words of his Namekian mentor, he looked extremely sharp.

Upon watching the smoke fade from their attacks, Tien smirked at the demi-Saiyan when the two turned to face the other. "Excellent form, Gohan. I can tell you've been working really hard over the last few months."

"Thanks. You've gotten a lot stronger too, Tien," Gohan chirped back, bringing his hands around and sliding into a wide fighting stance similar to that of his dad's. "I can't remember ever sparring with you before. It's a really refreshing change of pace for me."

"Me too. Your style is a mixture of both your father's and Piccolo's. I think that's a really good fit for someone like you," the former martial arts champion replied before setting himself into a more defensive form. "Alright… I think it's about time I turned up the heat a little. Hope you're ready for it."

After shaking off the dizziness from the last exchange, the pair squared off with their fists raised and eyes set firmly on the other. Digging their feet into the ground, both warriors made sure that their opponent was set squarely in their sights. While Tien was being incredibly cautious due to how strong Gohan actually was, the young hybrid had taken on a certain level of concern as well.

Even though he was fighting at his base level so as to give his opponent a chance and to work on his techniques, Tien was still an incredibly strong fighter. It made sense considering he'd been one of his father's main rivals back in the day.

Upon sizing up their adversary and catching their breaths, the fighters then crouched forward and flew at each other. Darting across the field of grass at super speed, Tien and Gohan met in the center, colliding elbow first and causing a loud shockwave to ring out. After literally shaking the area with their impact, they then began exchanging lightning fast blows, their fists and kicks cutting through the air like bullets, only to be deflected and parried each and every time.

As the pair clashed, causing loud gunshots to ring out and shake the sky, sitting not too far from them, Krillin and Videl could be seen sitting on a fallen tree log and watching the duo from a safe distance. Both looking like they'd had a bit of workout themselves, particularly the raven haired girl in the orange and blue gi who was currently sporting several noticeable bruises, the two humans sat quietly on the trunk as they observed their fellow martial artists battling it out in the center of the island.

Though their exchange of blasts beforehand had been something to marvel at and left more than a few marks across the land, there was nothing that could compare to a good, old-fashioned fist fight. What with the level of speed and skill both of them possessed, they were definitely putting on one hell of a show for their two-person audience.

Despite moving faster than the human eye could track, the still in-training Videl was able to keep up with both of them, giving her a full scope of what Gohan and his friend Tien were capable of. "Wow…"

The monk, adorned in the symbolic orange and blue gi of the turtle hermit, smiled across at the awe-struck girl. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Yeah," Videl nodded, looking on as Gohan landed a wicked hook across his opponent's face before receiving a kick in the side in retaliation. "It's been a long time since I last saw Tien Shinhan fight. The guy is really good."

"Oh yeah. No kidding. He's one of the best," Krillin chuckled, knowing full well what that man was capable of. "Even I would have second thoughts tangling with that guy on a good day."

The girl shook her head in amazement, "The recordings I saw of him in the previous world tournaments were pretty intense. But I can tell he's gotten a lot stronger." Her ki reading abilities really helped her in that department.

As it stood, this guy was easily on par with Krillin and Gohan in his base form. Though the half-Saiyan did have an edge over him, it was only by a paper-thin margin.

She whistled when she saw the pair shoot off at super speed to try and outflank each other. "Wow, they're fast."

Krillin chuckled at her remark. "With the kind of agility that we have, it makes it impossible for normal people to follow us around. Even when standing at a distance," Krillin continued, seeing the demi-Saiyan kick Tien in the stomach and send him flying across the grass at supersonic flight. "It's gotten to the point that not even the cameras can keep track of us. You'll only be able to catch a small glimpse in one or two frames of an entire strip, and that's it."

It was a revelation that had the daughter of the champ giggle. "Even technology can't keep up with you anymore."

"Damn straight," the short fighter replied, wincing when he saw Tien get jabbed in the face before receiving a shot to the body, only to then retaliate with a hook that sent Gohan barreling across the ground. The boy recovered quickly though and leapt back to his feet just in time to block a jumping knee from his opponent. The shockwave caused by the impact was monstrous. "After all the fights we've gotten into, I'm amazed that any of us were able to make it this far without completely losing it."

"Your group is made up of some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Honestly, I'm not at all surprised at how strong you guys have gotten. All of you have worked so hard and fought against the worst opponents imaginable for your strengths," Videl said, watching Gohan get hit over the head by a chopping right and retaliate with an uppercut to his opponent's chin. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of your powers then you guys."

Seeing the amazement reflected in her eyes and hearing the sincerity in her voice, Krillin smiled at the champ's daughter while she continued to watch the boy she admired fight against the older male. After giving it a few moments, the bald fighter spoke up, "So… Gohan's training you to be just like one of us, huh?" When he saw Videl nod, the martial artist chuckled. "Well, if there's any member of our group that's cut out for the job, it's him. He's a smart kid and a brilliant fighter. After seeing the stuff you could do in our spar, give or take a few more years… I'm sure that with his help… you'll be able to fight toe to toe with us in no time."

Eyes shining at the man's compliments, the raven haired girl beamed and nodded, "I really appreciate that. Thanks."

Upon giving one last nod, both Krillin and Videl turned back to continue observing Gohan and Tien's spar. Seeing the half-Saiyan perform a brilliant throw, tossing his opponent across the hills, they then saw the youngster turn, smile, and wave towards them.

Sensing his focus was set squarely on her, the raven haired girl giggled and waved in return; a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Krillin.

Looking between the two and seeing Tien return to continue his match, the short fighter beamed and fixed his sights back onto his best friend's son. _"You've got a good thing going here, Gohan. I'm really happy for yah."_

XXX

(One Year Later)

Months past and the Z-fighters continued to enjoy a long period of peace and prosperity on the earth. Not only was work plentiful for all those who were asking for it, but the many days to follow saw some of the most noticeable shifts in the Son family's life.

Goten was growing fast under the loving care of his mother, older brother and his friends. His vocabulary was increasing exponentially and his basic motor skills were also starting to reach their peak. Thanks to his Saiyan genetics, his instincts not only developed at a much faster rate compared to normal humans, but so did his physical strengths, which Gohan, Zangya and Videl couldn't help but notice every day they spent with him.

The rest of the family also underwent many changes. Thanks to a little bit of convincing from Gohan, the demi-Saiyan was able to encourage his Hera neighbor to move into the house with him so that she didn't have to spend her nights out in the cold anymore. Though Chi-Chi was initially hesitant about letting Zangya into her domain, after seeing how well the woman looked after her sons and did chores around the front yard, she eventually found a room for her just down the hall from her older boy's chambers.

It was a small space and a tight fit, but the orange haired alien was more than happy with the accommodations. At least now she had a place to store her clothing from work.

What's more, Zangya had also taken a much more active role in Gohan and Videl's training. Not only assisting the raven haired girl in her exercises and sessions every time she came over to visit the Son household, she also spent her mornings and afternoons driving her own fighting skills into the ground. Well aware that the demi-Saiyan and his companions were getting more powerful with every day that passed, the Hera female was determined to keep in step with them and, driven by pride and desire to better herself, Zangya started aiming for heights she never thought of reaching before.

About half way through the second year following the Cell Games, the blue-skinned fighter became Gohan's most frequent sparring partner. Her strength enabling her to go toe to toe with the youngster in his first Super Saiyan form, the woman started pushing herself even further to improve her techniques and increase her strength. Much like Piccolo, she even started to wear weighted clothing during her sessions and, wanting to augment her power and fighting mentality, began to meditate and _Image Train_ with the two Z-fighters even more.

Though her initial regimens had all been in an effort to keep her skills polished and her senses sharp, after seeing Gohan set himself a new goal after every month, she quickly became determined to do the same.

Heck, if she kept at it, she might even be able to reach a transformation phase herself.

Soon enough, after a year of vigorous sparring and training with Gohan and Piccolo out on the meadows and in their home's new Gravity Dome, she became strong enough to literally go head to head with him in Super Saiyan.

Concurrently, Gohan's strength also continued to climb. Thanks to the GR he managed to get from Bulma, not only was he able to diversify his training schedule, he also gave his friends a secondary place to train in the many months to follow.

Opening the chamber at a low enough setting enabled him to host some of Videl's sessions inside and get his friend accustomed to various changes in environment. He also spent many hours with Zangya sparring with her in a condition of over two hundred times earth's normal gravity, which gave them both an extreme workout.

After one particular session, the Saiyan and Hera had worked themselves so hard that when the artificial gravity eventually shut down after a couple long hours of training, both of them passed out right there on the tiles. It was perhaps one of the most peculiar sights Chi-Chi had ever walked in on when she came around to give the pair refreshments and found them lying opposite one another on their back and front respectively.

Aside from the usual stuff, everything was going swimmingly for the Son family.

And they weren't the only ones reveling in the peace.

Up in _Otherworld_, out on the vast plains making up most of the Grand Kai's planet, a certain spiky haired Saiyan was in the midst of an intense meditation session. Sitting cross-armed and cross-legged on a flat patch of field, with the familiar form of King Kai shadowing him from behind, the old hero of earth, Son Goku, could be seen locked in a severe _Image Training_ session.

With his halo hovering overhead, the adult Saiyan allowed a bead of sweat to run down the side of his head as he focused all of his efforts on defeating the opponent he'd conjured up in his mind. He was really getting into the routine too…

That was until his hour was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of several familiar ki signatures on his radar, which had his eyes fly open and glance over his shoulder. As soon as he did, he saw a group of five figures teleport into view in the form of a golden flash of light, which faded moments later to reveal Gohan, Chi-Chi, Zangya, Videl, and a three year old Goten standing in front of them.

The sight of his family appearing on the Grand Kai's soil had Goku's expression brighten.

Immediately spotting his father, Gohan grinned, "Hey dad! Guess who."

"Gohan. Chi-Chi. Hey!" the father exclaimed, springing to his feet and spinning around, "I'm glad you all made it." It was at that very moment he saw the youngest member of their family spot him as well, which immediately put a smile on Goten's face. It was an expression Goku quickly acknowledged, crouching down quickly and holding his arms out. "Hey there, little guy. It's great to see you again."

"Daddy!" the youngster in the green and yellow outfit called out as he dashed up to the man that he recognized as his father. With a giggle and a shout, the child threw himself into the man's hug, who laughed when he felt the boy clamp his arms around his neck. "I missed you daddy."

The full-blooded Saiyan chuckled as he stood up, carrying the boy with him, "I missed you too, Goten. Wow, you've gotten strong. What's Chi-Chi been feedin' yah?" His grip was monstrous, especially for a three year old.

After getting his fill of hugging the man, the child leaned away in his father's grip and looked at the martial artist curiously, "Are you still dead?"

Goku shrugged, throwing the boy a sheepish smile, "Yes. I'm still dead, Goten." He then reached up and tapped the halo hovering over his head. "See."

Blinking a couple of times, the young hybrid smiled, "Okay."

Finding the boy's innocence intoxicating, the spiky haired fighter then had the wind knocked out of him when Gohan jogged over and gave him a hug as well, which quickly earned one in kind. Upon greeting his sons as he always did, Goku then leaned away and looked down at his eldest child, who he could see was adorned in his colors of orange and blue.

"You're getting taller, son," Goku chuckled, measuring the boy's height against his chest and realizing that he was just a head shorter than him. "Man. It's only been a couple of weeks and you're already up to my neck." He then grinned when he saw the half-Saiyan step away, "If I'm not careful you're going to shoot right past me in the next few days."

Gohan chuckled, "I'll do my best. But I'll try not to grow too much for you, okay dad?"

"That's the spirit." Looking the youngster over, the dead Saiyan then noticed something new about his boy's appearance and acknowledged it with an exclamation of surprise, "Hey. You got a new haircut." Reaching up, he ran a hand through the teen's hair, pulling his palm away seconds later to see his son's spikes stand back on end, "Nice. It really suits you."

"Yeah," Gohan chuckled, reaching up and pushing the two strands that dangled in front of his forehead out of the way at the same time, "It's was all Lime's idea. I have to thank her properly next time I pop around to visit her."

Both father and son sharing a grin, with the young Goten reaching up to yank on his father's locks as well, the group was then interrupted by Chi-Chi walking right up to them. When her eldest stepped aside to make room for her, everyone then watched the woman step up to her husband, stand on her toes, and give him a tender kiss on the lips, which earned a gagging look from their youngest and an exclamation of protest.

Too bad the two parents ignored the child's plight and continued on with their show of affection.

Stepping away, the mother smiled, "Hello, sweetheart."

"Chi-Chi," Goku whispered, smiling lovingly at his wife as he held her by the waist, "Are you alright?" When he saw the woman nod her head affirmatively, the man felt a heart-like flutter in his chest. "Is everything okay down below? How's everyone?"

The woman nodded, "Everyone's doing great, Goku."

This brought a look of relief to the Saiyan's face. "That's good," Goku said, before then looking up to see the other two they'd brought with them wandering about the field. While Zangya was checking out the fighters training nearby with her arms folded, Videl was gazing across at the family with an expression of wonder, which put a grin on the former hero's face. "Let's go grab a bite to eat together. I'm sure all of you have plenty of stories to tell me. I want to hear about everything." He then turned to look over at his trainer, who was standing nearby with his hands behind his back, "King Kai?"

The blue man in the shades and training garb smiled and nodded, "No problems here, Goku. You go have fun with your family." After all, there weren't any rules in the script saying that his student couldn't receive visits from his relatives, especially if they were more than capable of traveling to the _Otherworld_. As far as he was concerned, Gohan and his family were more than welcomed to this planet, especially after all the good deeds they'd performed for their part of the universe.

All of the Z-fighters had earned their keep as heroes long ago, even if Vegeta and Zangya were a bit of a stretch.

Elated, Goku then led Chi-Chi, Gohan and Goten across the training fields towards the palace during which time the man's oldest son stopped and waited for Videl to catch up. When she did, he went on to walk the rest of the way to the Grand Kai's building with her and Zangya alongside him.

It was there, amidst the glimmering cosmos and the sacred space that was the world beyond their own, the family would spend the entire day together, having lunch, exploring the meadows, and catching up on days past.

For one shining moment, everything was perfect…

XXX

(That Night)

Back on earth, the day rolled by as usual. The sun rose and set as it always did, and every single person on earth eventually turned themselves in from many long hours of hard work and play. However, while the rest of West City went quiet and the halls of Capsule Corp. emptied of most of its staff heading home at the closing hours of their shifts, there was only one person left wide awake.

Sitting in a dark laboratory, with the massive monitors of her computers and work station giving her the only sources of light in the room, the blue haired form of Bulma could be seen typing away at her keyboard like there was no tomorrow. Murmuring impatiently as lines of code flew past her at ludicrous speed and her fingers danced over the tabs, the head of the company then spared a quick glance back at the operating table behind her.

Lying across the platform with a multitude of cables plugged into it, the skeletal frame of a humanoid-like robot at least two times the woman's height, with all of its wiring and gyros exposed to the air, lay in plain sight of the corporation's president. Due to the artificial muscles fitted into it to give the creation movement, as well as all the other parts designed to make it work, the half-finished android was obviously meant for full humanoid conversion sometime in the future, a process which Bulma intended to start as soon as she had its programming finished.

However, due to a few mishaps and problems she'd encountered along the way, the chief female scientist of the company found that that particular task was going to be next to impossible to complete.

Frowning, Bulma turned back to the strings of code in front of her and closed it down, leaving her with over a hundred files spread out before her on the drive. "Okay. This is getting me nowhere."

Wanting to try something different, the woman quickly separated half of the files into another folder on her computer, leaving the more vital components behind. While she was able to get its basic programming and movement patterns to successfully respond, the obstacle that Bulma now had to contend with was restoring the consciousness that was once Android 16's.

On paper it seemed like a straight forward task. However…

"Still having problems bringing your friend back to life?" the voice of Bulma's father spoke up, drawing the woman's gaze over her shoulder.

Seeing the man in the square glasses and white lab coat step into the light, the woman sighed and stood up out of her seat. Locking her computer and putting her work on hold for the time being, Bulma shook her head sadly and massaged her eyes, "I just don't get it, dad. When we were repairing Android 16 for the final battle against Cell, I was sure I was able to get a detailed copy of all of his CPU's memories and folders. Everything that made him who he was and made him work was all transferred to my computer so that I could study him and understand his programming. I've tried over and over again to get him on his feet again, but…" Looking across at the android skeleton she had on the table, the blue haired woman frowned in dismay. "I just can't seem to bring back the consciousness that made him… well… _alive_."

Doctor Briefs, understanding his daughter's woe, stepped over to her and laid a hand upon her shoulder, at the same time glancing down at the cyborg that was under construction. "The soul of a machine isn't some program you can activate with a simple push of the button, sweetheart. You know that better than anyone." The man then glanced up at his treasure, where he saw disappointment reflected in her eyes. "Whatever Doctor Gero did to bring Android 16 to life… it was probably something he did purely by accident; a bug that wasn't meant to exist. Maybe that was why he didn't plan on using him, because he hadn't finished programming the last of his software."

Considering her father's words strongly for several moments, Bulma then breathed an exhausted sigh and nodded her head in understanding, "I guess you're right, dad. Maybe it was all just an accident." She'd had it all in her head that she was in the right and felt confident in her abilities to resuscitate their group's most unexpected ally. But in spite of all her tinkering and experience, the blue haired scientist slowly came to the realization that maybe this was something that she could not do and was perhaps beyond her reach and understanding.

"But that doesn't mean I can't keep trying, right?" Bulma asked, smiling across at her old man, who smiled and nodded back to her in acknowledgement. Upon receiving his confidence and feeling slightly reinvigorated, the woman stepped up to the android and patted it on the forehead. Upon which she then stepped away and left the table. "I'm done for the night. Time to hit the sack."

Accompanying her on the way out, Doctor Briefs gave the skeleton of the android one last, thoughtful glance before shutting the door behind them. With the lights switching off and the computer quickly going into sleep mode, the lab was well and truly shutdown until further notice.

…

…

…

Many hours later, in the dead of night, with nothing but the low hum of machines filling the labs empty space, the automatic doors were once again opened by the most unexpected of guests.

Strolling in on all fours, the little black kitten recognized as Doctor Brief's most valued companion, Tama, ambled into the room on his own accord. Amidst the darkness and coldness of the chamber that served as one of Bulma's provisional laboratories, the little feline walked over to the table holding up the body of the lifeless frame that was to be the future Android 16. Sitting down beside it with his tail wagging behind him, the cat gazed up at the desk quietly, with nothing but curiosity in its eyes.

Several moments after he did so, the large monitor Bulma had been working on sometime before suddenly switched on behind him, drawing the kitten's attention over his shoulder.

When his eyes fell upon it, Tama saw the files the blue haired scientist had separated suddenly start to open up one after the other. The curser accessing them as if being directed by a phantom, the screen suddenly became filled with a window detailing millions of lines of code, which began to scroll past the monitor at high speed.

Initially, Tama sat there in confusion, listening to the beeping of the computer and the churning of the numbers. A few minutes of watching later, the line of code reached its end, where the word 'ACTIVATE' could be seen highlighted in bold. After several seconds of flashing, the word 'ENTER' was then typed in, followed shortly by a sudden surge of power.

Electricity began shooting down the lines of capable connected to the android's body, the streams zapping and crackling in a glorious display of deadly fireworks, filling the skeleton with an enormous amount of energy. In a matter of moments, the blue bolts streaming into the lifeless husk inevitably faded and the room once again fell silent. But then, a few ticks of processing later, the eyes on the hulking robotic frame lit up a brilliant red and, after a couple twitches of its fingers, the robot sat up.

Rising from the table, the still plugged android skeleton looked around the dark room, its optical sensors scanning the space and taking in every little detail surrounding it. Upon inspecting its environment, it then glanced down at the floor beside it, where it saw Tama gazing up at him.

Giving a meow, the little kitten greeted the robot cheerfully.

Staring back at it in silence, the android then swung its legs off of the table and, upon rising up, stepped over to the cat and crouched down next to it. It was then the robot took the moment to stroke the kitten on the head with one of its large fingers, earning a purr from the pure black feline.

"Kitty…" the deep, raspy voice of the robot murmured, in a tone recognized as the late Android 16's.

After getting its fill of affections, Tama walked away, allowing the half-complete robot to rise to his feet and move on. Not finding anything of further interest in the area, the android decided to go for a wander of the facility and, upon leaving through the same double doors of Bulma's auxiliary lab the cat had entered through, ambled down the corridor at a casual pace.

His gears whirring and gyrating throughout the dark hallways of the science wing of Capsule Corp's main building, the android eventually stopped at another door with the plaque _Tech Division_ emblazoned on the wall. Here, after staring at the door for several seconds, the android reached out and dialed into the key pad, utilizing information it was able to gain from the main computer. A couple beeps later and the double doors slid open, allowing the android access to the chamber.

Strolling in, the robot found itself in a room very similar to the one it was in before, only this one was bigger and had an entire space filled with electronics, devices and all sorts of other technology that the scientists of the facility were currently working on. Judging from the impressive layout, the computers packed over to one side and the tables in the center, this looked like one of Bulma Brief's main workshops. Considering the amount of labs actually making up this particular wing of the building, this could have been one of many.

In any case, it certainly had the most gizmos in it, there was no denying that.

Craning his head around, the robot strolled across the room. Making its way to the back of the room, it then spotted something of interest lying by the large monitor and quickly turned its attention to it, stopping in its tracks.

Reaching over, he picked up the watch-like device lying on the counter and, after inspecting it for a moment, switched it on. The electronic beep the device gave when a green grid sprang onto the screen along with a yellow, radar-like pulse immediately identified the gadget as the Dragon Radar. Staring down at the blinking lights, the robot saw that there was a yellow dot registering on it and, realizing it was nearby, began looking for it.

It didn't take him long to spot the orange ball with the two red stars sitting in a display case at the end of the table. Setting the radar down and walking over to it, the curious android opened up the glass box at the latch and pulled out the dragon ball, which it began to analyze closely.

Staring at the orange orb for a full minute in silence, blinking a couple of times as its brain processed what the object was, it then heard the hiss of the double doors to the lab open. Glancing to his left, the android's eyes landed upon the form of Doctor Briefs feeling against the wall for the light switch. When he eventually flipped it, the glasses wearing man then began scanning the areas of the lab that flickered into view. "Here, Tama. Where are you, kitty? Here kitty-kitty…oh?" He then stopped when he spotted the large android standing by the desk. At first appearing surprised, a few seconds later the man's mind eventually clicked at what he was looking at and his expression did a complete one-eighty. "Why, hello there. You're the android my daughter's been working on these last few months. What are you doing in here?"

The automaton watched as the old man in the pajamas and bathrobe ambled towards him, only to stop a couple meters away for an inspection.

Looking the unfinished robot from head to toe, the founder of the company nodded his head in approval at what he saw and beamed up at the creation's face. "It seems Bulma's done a terrific job on your frame. The adamantine bodywork really came out great… and it looks like your motor-skill software is running well." He didn't even want to question how the robot was up and moving about. The fact that the android his daughter was reconstructing was actually functioning completely outshone all other thought and logic. Heck, it even seemed to have gained a sense of individuality and curiosity about his surroundings, which immediately captured the scientist's attention. "How are you feeling? Can you talk?"

Eye shutters blinking, the robot then made a gurgling sound as the mechanics in its throat opened up, "T-Talk…?"

"Hm?" the man who'd obviously woken up from a good night of sleep to try and find his cat tilted his head at the android. "You're probably still running a few language sub-routines. That's understandable considering the design of the CPU inside your head is a little bit different from the previous model." It was then he noticed the android was holding the sphere from the case and quickly pointed at it. "Ah. I see you've found the dragon ball my daughter's been looking after as well."

The android turned to the orange globe in its hand, "Dragon… ball…?"

"Yes. She brought it in so that she could study it and the entity living inside of them. Initially she thought the balls were the dormant form of the dragon itself, but now my daughter thinks that they open a gateway to another dimension that allows Shenron to enter our world. Either way she's really looking forward to the results," Doctor Briefs informed, watching the android look down at it the orb in intrigue. The old scientist waited to see what the android would do next, but when nothing happened for the next few minutes he then slipped his hands into his pockets and beamed. "Bulma will be thrilled to see you're up and running. Though I admit Doctor Gero's programming is rather complex, I believe that his work on advanced robotics will be the next step forward to designing the strings for all future automaton and android designs. You'll be the company's template to realizing that dream."

"S-Strings?" the robot murmured, looking up from the ball and staring ahead of him blankly.

Puzzled by the robot's taking away from his little piece of dialogue, Doctor Briefs tilted his head at the android curiously. Wondering what was currently going through its mind, the father was just about to ask it a question when, all of a sudden, with speed no human could follow, the large robot turned to the doctor and rushed him. Grabbing him by the neck, the android skeleton slammed the man into the back wall in a blur, causing a loud 'thud' to ring out before it lifted the scientist off the ground.

Gasping in shock, Doctor Briefs clawed at the hand gripping his neck, which began to crush him like a vice. Caught completely by surprise, the man gawked down at the metal man currently dragging his hapless form up the wall, only to stop when he was literally hanging two meters off of the tiles.

"W-Wh…What are you doing?" the Brief founder gasped as he felt the robot's grip tighten around his wind pipe.

Eyes flashing a deathly red, the android then glanced down at the ball it was still holding. Upon which he gave a very guttural chuckle, one that was laced with the low hum of a machine.

His sudden tone shift from Android 16's previous voice to a deeper and raspier one, had the Brief father's eyes widen.

"_**Yes."**_ The robot then tossed the dragon ball up and down in his hand. _**"Lots and lots of strings."**_ He then tossed it over his shoulder, allowing it to bounce across the lab.

Doctor Briefs narrowed his eyes, his mind quickly processing the voice that was leaving the robot's mouth. "You're not Android 16. W-Who are you?" he rasped when the robot's hand tightened even further, "_What_ are you?"

The robot chuckled in amusement and glanced up at the good scientist. _**"You should tell your daughter not to stick her nose into things she does not understand."**_

Upon hearing the machine's answer and theorizing that it must have been Bulma's exploration into Android 16's memory banks that resulted in this artificial intelligence surfacing, Doctor Briefs only had a few seconds to realize the fault before, giving another strangled gasp, the android's grip tightened one last time.

The hand wrapped around the man's throat continued to apply pressure on the scientist's neck before, without warning, an audible 'crack' echoed throughout the room. The second the noise rang out, the scientist's body went limp and his arms fell to his sides, his eyes turning blank and a trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth.

"_**But… since you won't be around when she wakes up… I think I'll tell her for you."**_

Deed done and sensing the man's life disappear on the wind the android dropped the father's body to the ground before turning his attention to the lab. Marching over to the monitor station, the robot collected up the Dragon Radar, analyzed it one last time, and crushed it in its grip, shattering the device and scattering its remains over the floor.

Lips curling up into a sinister smile, the robot then eyed the back of the room eagerly, where he could see all of the company's latest projects, devices, vehicles, equipment and prototypes on display.

The sight of the rows of assorted technology had the android's excitement skyrocket, _**"I think it's time for an upgrade."**_ Bringing its arm up, a collection of cables suddenly detached from him and began to whip around the air like tendrils, before he extended his hand and shot the cables towards the shelves.

The wires snagged several pieces of equipment, wrapping around them before, after securing the devices, brought them back to their host…

XXX

(That morning)

After several hours of sleep, the once weary and mentally drained Bulma Briefs was once again up bright and early, eager to start the day ahead.

Following a quick shower and touch up, the woman slipped into her usual outfit consisting of white pants, red top, yellow vest, and a pair of slippers, gathered up her four year old son from his bed, and headed down to the kitchen for a spot of breakfast. Arriving there shortly afterwards, she wasn't at all surprised to see her mother already up and making food for the family, and didn't even blink when she saw Vegeta sitting at the table waiting on the food with folded arms.

Shaking her head at the man, who was already dressed in a set of blue spandex complete with sleeveless top, white gloves and yellow tipped boots, the blue haired woman led her son over to the table and pulled up a seat alongside the Saiyan Prince.

While Trunks got himself comfortable, Bulma turned to the spiky haired man and smiled pleasantly, "Got anything interesting planned for the day, Vegeta?"

Glancing across at the woman, the fighter quickly turned back to stare at the table, "Once I'm done eating here I'm going down to the gravity room to do some more training. After that I'll take Trunks to the park for some fresh air."

Bulma appeared genuinely surprised at that, "Really? You… want to take him out? By yourself?" Hearing his father was going to take him somewhere immediately had the lavender haired child sitting nearby perk up with interest.

"Of course, woman. Keeping him cooped up inside all day isn't good for a future Saiyan elite. He needs to go out and exercise to keep up his strength," the flame-haired man replied, momentarily fixing his gaze on the scientist before then glancing toward his son, who was now looking at him with a beaming smile in play, "You can argue with me all you want, but I refuse to allow my boy to grow up to become a slacker."

Trunks beamed excitedly, "Are you going to take me to the big one in the middle of the city?" When he saw the man nod, the child in the oversized green t-shirt and purple shorts punched the air triumphantly, "Yeah! Awesome!" He then turned to look at the one cooking breakfast for all of them, "I'm going to go down the big slide today, grandma!"

The blonde woman giggled cheerfully, "I'm glad to hear that. Make sure you have fun, sweetie, and go easy on everyone."

"Okay."

Grunting, Vegeta then had his attention pulled to his left, where he saw a cup of coffee set down next to him by the cheerful and eternally youthful grandparent. Acknowledging her smile with his usual glance, he then picked it up and took a sip, completely unaware of the adorning gaze the blue haired scientist was now giving him.

Eyes shimmering when the man in her life willingly volunteered to take Trunks out for the day, she then turned her attention to the newspaper sitting next to her. Flipping it open and skimming over the first page, she then looked up when she realized something was off and focused her gaze on her mother, whom she saw set a plate of food down in front of Vegeta and then in front of her.

"Hey mum, where's dad? Is he still asleep?" Bulma asked, noticing that the company's founder and her idol wasn't here reading the paper alongside them.

Moving about to set a big plate of egg, vegetables and bacon in front of Trunks, who wasted no time in digging into it, the cheery blonde with the curly hair shook her head sadly, "I'm not sure dear. I heard him wake up sometime in the middle of the night and leave the room to go to the bathroom, but he never came back. My guess is that he probably went down to the labs to check on something."

Vegeta, half-listening to the woman's response, grunted before he continued to shovel egg into his mouth.

"Huh? That's weird," Bulma murmured, folding the paper and setting it aside to tend to her own breakfast, which consisted of porridge and fruit. "Dad doesn't usually get up to work on something unless it's super important." Her dad didn't say anything about taking on any new projects.

The mother placed a finger against her cheek thoughtfully, "Maybe Tama went on another walk and he got up to go find him. You know how much your father loves that kitten."

This drew an understanding nod from her daughter, "Well that too."

As the family dug into their breakfast and Mrs. Briefs returned to her station, a sense of normalcy quickly fell back over them. It was around the time Vegeta and his son were hitting their third serving of breakfast for the morning was their moment of tranquility interrupted by a figure stepping into the corridor entrance of the dining room.

Looking up, the young Trunks immediately recognized the man in the bathrobe halfway through the archway, "Hey, grandpa."

Bulma smiled when she saw the man standing lopsided in front of them, "Morning dad. Did you have a rough night? You look awful."

The fact that his head was tilted, his gaze was blank, and his glasses were wonky was all the signs the Briefs around the table needed to know that the father had had a late night.

However, when the father didn't say anything for the first few seconds and continued to stand in place, Bulma's expression fell, "Dad? Is there something wrong?"

It was only when Vegeta looked up from his table in response to the woman's question did he notice something was off. At first analyzing the man's posture and spotting the red stain on his bathrobe, the Prince then reached out with his senses to see what was up. When he didn't pick up any life signs, the Saiyan immediately set his fork down.

Her concern rising, Bulma quickly set her utensils down as well, "Dad?"

The moment she did, she suddenly saw the man's body keel forward and slam into the floor with a heavy 'thud'. Seeing her father crumple to the ground lifelessly had Bulma jump out of her seat and gasp, with Trunks giving a few surprised blinks and Mrs. Briefs a startled squeak. After seeing her husband face plant the tiles, she placed whatever dishes she was holding onto the kitchen counter and began hurrying around the table toward him.

"Sweetie?"

"Dad!"

Just as everyone was starting to move from their spots, the sound of a low, ghostly hum suddenly filled the room, followed immediately by a voice.

The raspy voice and the lyrics it started to sing was what had everyone inside the room freeze where they were sitting or standing.

"_**Hi-ho the meri-o. That's the only way to be."**_

"_**I want the world to know… nothing ever worries me."**_

The haunting melody was accompanied by a metallic whirring sound and heavy footsteps that echoed throughout the room. Seconds after the sounds became audible, a towering silhouette of an unknown figure stepped into the archway where the father was once standing.

"_**I've got no strings…to hold me down…"**_

"_**To make me fret, or make me frown…"**_

He took a step forward… and another step…

"_**I had strings… but now I'm free…"**_

"_**There are… no… strings… on… ME."**_

The moment the figure stepped into the light, Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks and Mrs. Briefs' eyes widened in horror when they found themselves staring at a towering automaton covered completely in silver plated armor, with glowing red nodes and lines, and a human-like face with no nose, two glowing red eyes without pupils, and two antenna in place of ears.

To the calm mind, it was merely a creepy looking robot.

But to the people currently in that room… it was like looking into the face of the devil himself.

The android grinned.

"_**Hello…"**_

…

…

"_**Mum."**_

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Okay...

...

...

...

...

So that happened.

Finally, we're getting to the heavy hitters. Varax and _this_ motherfucker. Apparently Doctor Gero had did a lot of tinkering with his androids. If you think about it, all that murderous intent and hate from the androids in Mirai Trunks' timeline had to go somewhere.

Well... it appears that programming has been lying dormant in Android 16's memories and has now been let out.

These are two new villains that will be serving as antagonists in the future. Just a little bit of info on them, Varax is a villain I created based off of a number of villains and is somebody not even Kana wants to mess with. If that's the case, then he must be one terrifying bastard. His name is a play on Virus and Anthrax, a 'plague' on the universe.

This new android though, he's something else. He was also made purely by accident, which I think is a really interesting twist in the story that one of the protagonists of the series unintentionally creates a monster that starts wrecking hell for all of them.

Hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter.


	12. There and Back Again

Author's Note: Yes. Back again with another chapter. This is great news.

Bad news is that I'm in a bit of a foul mood.

That's because the _**Naruto**_ series has come to an end, and just when I didn't think I'd be able to find an ending worse than the one I saw in _How I Met Your Mother_… whoop-dee-doo, I found one.

Ugh, it's just really annoying right now. There were so many things and problems in Chapter 700 that they just far outweighed all the good stuff I could find. Excuse me while I rant a little bit.

_**SPOILERS: **_The good things were that it was a nice, quiet ending to a long series and a lot of characters went on to live happy lives. By far, the best ones I saw in it were Kakashi and Gai, Tenten at the shop, Lee training with his kid, Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, and a couple other characters. Samui and her brother were freed (yay), and Asuma's kid grew up awesome. Their situations I consider the best ones, and I like how things have gotten along since the war. For some people it may seem perfect and a good wrap-up for an average series… but…

'Sighs…'

Okay…

Now for the bad.

The whole ending seemed rushed. Not to sound crass, but I would have preferred the end chapters being covered with a little more depth. My guess is that the author just wanted to get it out of the way. There are just so many questions I'm left with that I don't think they'll be able to cover with the new movie, which is probably going to end up a massive drag in the end with a plethora of illogic and garbage.

Also, here are some other personal grievances I felt from it.

The Sasuke/Sakura thing was such a forced romance and pairing that I would not be able to buy it in a million years. Honestly, give me Naruto/Sasuke any day of the week. There was literally no development for it and the author basically relied on the time-skip for the audience to interpret what'd happened in between. After all the shit Sasuke did, I'm surprised Sakura didn't dump his ass and move on to someone else more deserving. Maybe the blonde, best friend she had with her through every single adventure we saw them on. That would have been a solid choice. Though I don't mind the Naruto and Hinata thing since they make a solid couple and I like them together, at the end of it… I think I would have preferred Naruto and Sakura to be honest.

Hell, maybe the author could've done something completely outrageous and did a three way, Naruto/Hinata/Sakura… or maybe even Naruto/Ino, a Naruto/Samui… or Naruto/Hanabi. Any one of those could've been put into there and I would have given my seal of approval.

Then again, Sakura's character wasn't written well, so I'm just going to blank the whole Sasuke/Sakura thing out. If you want a true ending, look up _**LadyGT**_ on deviant art and the Naruto/Sakura doujin she made. That's MY official ending for the Naruto series.

Among the other atrocities they committed, they made Anko FAT (fuck that shit), the kid designs look like they were cut and pasted together, Karin was pretty much dropped off the story line (personally I would've preferred her and Sasuke together), and Mei is still single… apparently.

And Choji and Karui. Okay. I can perhaps handle Sai and Ino together, since they are pretty cute, but this one is so completely out of left field it's unbelievable, since they didn't have any interaction whatsoever, even in filler (I bet even the creators didn't see that one coming). This isn't so much of a problem as it was a surprise.

And Sasuke and Sakura's kid... God... kill me now.

In any case, if anyone here wants to read a solid Naruto ending, go to fanfiction and look up your preference. That's my only advice. Or just read up to Chapter 699. At least then you won't have to read the stuff that happens afterwards.

Okay. Rant over. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_There and Back Again_

"What the hell is _that_ thing?" Vegeta asked while standing up, knocking his chair over at the same time.

Terrified at the sight of the large robot standing in the doorway, Trunks leapt out of his chair and rushed over to his mother to hug her leg, "M-Mum?" However, he received no immediate comfort from the woman, as Bulma was still staring at the automaton in horror.

Chortling as he stepped further into the room, the seven-foot-plus robot stood over Doctor Briefs's lifeless form and smirked across at his stunned audience._**"I apologize for my lateness. You see, I've just spent the last several hours familiarizing myself with the incredible abundance of technology down in the research and development labs."**_ His eyes flared dangerously as he continued scanning the room and the faces of Briefs family. _**"The conversion process was a long and tedious one, but I was finally able to install all of the hardware and software necessary for my upgrade. In other words… it has been a really long night. So, Bulma Briefs…" **_ The robot leered, _**"What do you think of my new look?"**_

Gritting his teeth while everyone else around the table shivered with fright, Vegeta rounded on the blue haired scientist once again and barked, "Woman! Talk! What the hell am I looking at here?"

Eyes shimmering with disbelief, all Bulma could do was shake her head in disbelief. "A-Android… Sixteen?"

"What?" Vegeta glared back at the robot and gave it a once over. After a couple seconds of analyzing the abomination blocking the archway, the Saiyan Prince snarled, "Is this some kind of a joke? How in the hell is this thing anything like that animal-loving hunk of metal?"

"_**My sensors are detecting a high level of hostility and discomfort,"**_ the robot said before grinning snidely at the baffled crowd. _**"My… how exciting. Mum and dad are having an argument. But as much as I would love to stand here and watch you two bicker for the next several minutes, I'm afraid I'm on a very tight schedule." **_Tilting its head, the android cracked its neck before rolling its shoulders one after the other. _**"Oh, and for your information, your highness, if you think my current design is anything like that defective, washed-up model of a cyborg from before, you're sadly mistaken."**_

Getting frustrated at being kept completely in the dark, the flame-haired Saiyan raised a fist and stepped forward. "Who are you?!"

The robot straightened up as soon as his whole body had moved into the dining room, leaving Doctor Brief's form lying motionless behind him. _**"Oh? Are you feeling angry, Vegeta? Are you feeling… impatient and a little bit stressed?"**_ His questions earning a snarl from the warrior, the red-eyed machine merely stood in place and leered at his quarry._** "Hypothesis: correct. It seems that the information I have regarding your personality traits is a hundred percent accurate." **_A sly smile then slowly appeared on his face, _**"To answer your question though, I am unfortunately unable to tell you my name, as Doctor Gero never gave me one."**_ This announcement had the Saiyan Prince balk in shock, drawing another cocky smirk from the robot. _**"You could say I was just an idea that he had; a Mark I prototype that never got off the ground… or in this case the hard drive on his computer. I was the program that he was originally supposed to install into Android 16, yet he never got around to completing."**_

"_Oh this is just perfect. __**Another**__ android?!"_ Vegeta growled in his head, his fists shaking with rage as he focused all of his attention on the condescending metal man._ "Damn it! I thought we were already past this shit!"_

The towering creation then raised an artificial eyebrow at the Saiyan Prince, _**"But… seeing as how you're just dying to know who I am… all things considered… I think I'll go with…"**_ His right eye beeped and flickered, typing in a name for him to speak from a list of choices. Eventually he settled on one, which he immediately took a liking to. _**"Sentinel."**_

By this point in time, Vegeta had had enough.

"You're going to be called 'pile of scrap metal' by the time I'm through with you!" With a roar the man sprang over the table and charged straight at the android.

This proved to be his blunder because the second he sprang into action the robot opened his jaw and fired a colossal red blast right out of his mouth. Vegeta only had a split second to look stunned before the attack crashed into him like a missile, sending him rocketing backwards in the opposite direction and through the kitchen wall. The entire building was rocked by the massive explosion that followed.

In a flash of blinding light, the entire side of the dome-shaped structure blasted outwards in an immense cloud of debris and smoke, which spat the Saiyan's body out the other side and into his back garden.

Having dropped to the ground the instant the explosion filled the entire dining area, Bulma, Trunks and Mrs. Briefs looked through the enormous hole that stood in place of the kitchen area in shock. After gawking at it for several seconds, they then watched as the hulking android Sentinel strolled past them, before leaping through the hole and following after the fallen Saiyan.

Landing on the front lawn with a loud thud, the silver automaton gave a low chuckle as he then began a casual approach of the small, human-sized crater lying several yards away.

His legs making a metallic crunching sound with every step, Sentinel soon stopped at the edge of the indentation beside the slightly wounded Vegeta, who was covered in burns and was missing half of his shirt. _**"Did the Saiyan Prince experience a sudden malfunction? Number crunching must be extremely difficult for someone of your limited means. Here. Let me help you up, sire."**_ The android then reached down, grabbed the man by the leg, and casually lifting him off of the floor.

Vegeta, looking up at the robot, sneered angrily, "Go fuck yourself…"

Sentinel grinned, _**"File not found."**_ Cocking his arm back, he then effortlessly pitched the hapless Saiyan across the property, through a garage and straight into a café right across the street. The man collided with the building with an earthshaking crash, causing rubble and smoke to explode into the air and the people in the store to cry out in terror.

Pleased with the throw, Sentinel moved back into a normal standing position and fixed his attention on the landing site. Eyes flickering with lights as he analyzed the life forms in the area, the android then brought up its left arm and clenched it into a fist. A couple clicking sounds later and the plates and parts in his arm and hand separated and reformed into a cannon, which he then pointed. _**"Photon Shot!" **_With only a few seconds of loading time, the android then fired a golden blast straight towards the smoking building a full block away.

The attack hit the hole in the café dead on, only to be smacked into the clouds where it detonated harmlessly above the city. This was instantly followed by Vegeta flying out of the ruined building and into the airspace high above.

Spotting him, the android took aim once again. Dropping his arm, which quickly morphed back into a regular hand, his left and right shoulder plates separated and popped out a pair of compact UB-32 rocket pods. As soon as they appeared, the android unleashed a hellfire of rockets that shot up after the Saiyan Prince.

Seeing the missiles fast approaching him, Vegeta growled and threw his hand forward, launching multiple ki blasts at once which collided with several of the missiles and destroyed them. The rest of the five dozen rockets blew past the explosions and honed in on him, forcing the man to dodge.

Avoiding the first few, the man then kicked one of the rockets away and watched it explode elsewhere above the city, a sight that had him frown deeply. _"That explosion was quite powerful. I should avoid getting hit by these things." _He then blasted off when the rest of the tracers continued to follow him.

Arcing through the sky above West City, the Saiyan Prince dodged and avoided the rockets chasing after him, watching as several went off one after the other while the rest began to gain ground. Getting frustrated at his inability to lose them, Vegeta quickly decided to counter the assault. Flying backwards, the flame-haired warrior then unleashed a barrage of multiple ki blasts at the approaching missiles.

In an impressive display of accuracy and firepower, he managed to shoot all of them out of the air and after spinning around, focused his sights on his target once more.

Narrowing his eyes, the Saiyan Prince brought his hand up and produced a blue ball of ki, which sprang out of his palm and hovered in place. He then cocked it back and took aim. "You're finished! I'll take you out in one-" Vegeta then stopped, his gaze suddenly shifting over to the Capsule Corp building, where he saw the Briefs family and his son watching them through the massive hole in the wall.

After several quick seconds of switching his glare between them and the android on the lawn, the warrior cursed inwardly and dispelled the attack he was charging, which would've been more than capable of incinerating the entire block. "Shit!" He then clenched his fists angrily.

The Saiyan knew that if he went all out here against this walking pile of junk then he ran the risk of killing Bulma and his son. As much as his pride demanded he settled this as quickly as possible, he still had the right state of mind to show restraint around his family.

As it currently stood, this robot had several impressive tricks up its sleeve, including one hell of a throwing arm. But judging from what it was able to pull so far, Vegeta knew that he would be able to destroy this thing without having to go all out. It would just take a bit of time.

Hell, he could probably take it down without even having to go Super Saiyan.

"_Fine then!" _Deciding on a new course of action, the warrior quickly dove straight down to Capsule Corp and the android standing squarely in his sights. "I'll just beat you down the old-fashioned way!"

Sentinel grunted and retracted his rocket launchers. Immediately upon doing so his eyes flashed a bright red before firing two lasers up at the approaching Saiyan.

Spotting the fast-moving beams, Vegeta dropped altitude immediately, avoiding them. Stopping himself just feet above the ground, the man then powered up and, with a loud battle cry and a sonic boom, shot towards the android and uncorked the mother of all punches into its face. His fist connected with a deafening thunderclap and, not only did it cock the automaton's head to the side, it also had him skid along the ground for a couple of feet.

However, upon burying his knuckles into the robot's metal cheek, Vegeta then looked up in shock when he saw the robot was unaffected and grinning smugly at him.

"_**Attack failed. Damage incurred: zero. I'm afraid that amount of force will not be sufficient enough to pierce through this armor," **_Sentinel spoke, effortlessly craning his head around to stare at the stunned Saiyan, _**"The reinforced adamantine frame making up my body was an extra precaution designed by Bulma Briefs to ensure the same fate did not befall this model of Android 16 as it did the last one. Useless sentimentality from a useless woman."**_

Growling, Vegeta cocked his fist back and prepared for another punch, only to get hit across the face by a hook from the android that sent him spinning across the lawn. Before he could come to a complete stop, Sentinel darted forward and elbowed the prince in the face, sending him bouncing across the property.

Slamming his feet into the ground to stop, the prince's blue aura exploded around him and he shot up into the sky, where he stopped and glared down at the deceptively quick robot.

"Is that all you've got?!" Vegeta barked, ignoring the blood running out of the corner of his mouth.

Sentinel smirked, _**"As a matter of fact…"**_ Almost instantly, every single plate on his body opened up and produced a rocket launcher, all of which loaded and aimed straight at the Saiyan floating high above. _**"Ice Blitzkrieg!"**_ He then fired everything he had; sending over ten dozens rockets of all shapes and sizes hurtling towards the persistent warrior hanging above the property.

Giving a yell of effort, the raven haired fighter blasted backwards as fast as he could, curling left and right before being assaulted by the storm of projectiles. The rockets impacted him one after the other and exploded, revealing their ammunition to be sheaths of liquid nitrogen-like rounds that caused icy blasts capable of freezing anything.

When it seemed like Vegeta was going to be frozen into submission by the onslaught of missiles, the Saiyan Prince was actually deflecting each individual rocket so that they exploded away from him, before cocking his fist back and hooking the last wave with a power punch that destroyed them all in a brilliant flash of golden light.

The smoke from the explosion clouded the air and blocked Sentinel's view of his target, leaving him in suspense for several seconds. Moments later, Vegeta suddenly shot out of the side of the cloud and, hand held forward, unleashed a golden blast down at the abomination. _**"Big Bang Attack!"**_ The ball of energy shot out of his hand towards the android and slammed straight into his face, detonating with an almighty bang that rocked the entire block.

At first the Saiyan thought he got him, but just seconds after the flash of light faded, revealing a cloud of black smoke hovering above the property, the smog parted sharply and Sentinel came shooting up at him propelled by a collection of rocket pads on his back and feet.

While flying towards the Saiyan Prince, the android suddenly tucked and retracted all of his limbs into his body, his plates shifting and incasing him in a protective, cocoon-like shell. Reacting in alarm at the robot-turned-projectile, Vegeta threw his hands forward and unleashed three powerful ki blasts at his adversary, only to watch his attacks bounce off of his slopped armor uselessly.

Counter failed, the man threw himself out of the way and watched his foe blow past him, only to change course sharply and land on the roof of a distant office building. Unfolding and landing with a heavy thud, Sentinel then sprang through the air in another direction and spun around, opening his mouth and producing a second cannon, which he immediately aimed at the Saiyan Prince.

"_**Pellet Shooter!"**_ With a series of loud bangs, the android unleashed a volley of high-velocity blasts towards his opponent.

Vegeta avoided the first few shots, which rocketed past him like artillery rounds, only to then be hit headlong by the last two, which exploded with ridiculous force and sent him spiraling to the ground. With a yell of shock, the Saiyan collided with one of Capsule Corp's smaller buildings, causing the entire roof to cave in on itself.

Target hit, Sentinel flew back down to ground level and landed with a metallic thud on the grass. Smiling at his success, the android then began to march towards the crash site, intent on finishing his opponent.

"_**You think you can destroy me?"**_ Sentinel asked with a smile. _**"I've analyzed all of your training sessions recorded in the gravity room and added your attack patterns to my combat routines. Nothing you can do will surprise me."**_ Feeling invigorated, the android clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, gathering energy for one last attack.

However, when he was about half way across the property, a shockwave suddenly rang out followed immediately by a blast of wind that pelted Sentinel in the face with a cloud of debris. Stopping in his tracks and looking up in momentary confusion, the mechanized fighter saw the entire roof of the collapsed building blow away and a golden aura burst out of it like an inferno. This was shortly followed by a slightly banged-up Vegeta emerging from the rubble assumed in his Super Saiyan form, his hair blonde and an intense, teal glare fixed upon the silver-plated android.

His sensors quickly analyzing the man's new appearance and power level, the robot chuckled, _**"I see you've made some… modifications. Altering your original combat chassis will not help you."**_ Sentinel then threw both his hands forward, clenching them into fists before the plates shifted back and transformed into two identical cannons. The morphing of his arms was instantly followed by the android's expression intensifying tenfold. _**"Do not prolong the inevitable."**_

"Shut your mouth!" Vegeta frowned, his energy warping around him furiously, "It's time to put your metal ass down once and for all." Throwing his arms out to his sides, the Saiyan then gave a mighty bellow and, in an explosive show of force, his aura blasted off of him in all directions and began to fluctuate like crazy. This was instantly followed by two blue spheres of energy wrapping around his hands, which sparkled and crackled as he poured all the ki he needed into his palms.

Eyes flickering with numbers and warning lights, Sentinel's gaze reflected a momentary sense of astonishment. This then prompted the android to also begin powering up and in a matter of seconds, the insides of the two barrels he'd produced from his arms began to glow a hot orange. His internal nuclear furnace burning brightly and emitting a loud humming noise, the android took aim at his target and, with a sonic boom and the howl of a powerful engine, the android unleashed his attack.

"_**Hell Flash!"**_ Two orange blasts rocketed out of his arms and fused into one, forming into a single beam that charged towards the Super Saiyan in a wall of death.

In response, Vegeta roared at the top of his lungs and, upon bringing his hands together with his fingers spread, the Prince of all Saiyans unleashed an attack that hadn't been seen since his fight on Namek.

"_**Final Crash!"**_ His yell was soon drowned out by his attack, which gushed out of his hands and shot towards the approaching orange beam in a tidal wave of energy.

The attacks collided in midair like comets running each other down, a shockwave ringing out as a result that punched a massive crater into the ground beneath them. But then, just seconds into the tug-of-war match, Vegeta's blast effortlessly dominated Sentinel's and, overwhelming the opposing blast, charged towards the android. Moments later, the robot was struck headlong by the attack, knocked off its feet, and sent barreling across the city, flying over hundreds of skyscrapers before eventually colliding with a mountain safely on the other side, way out of reach of the community's populace.

The impact was marked by a brilliant flash of purple light followed by a colossal explosion several hundred times more powerful than a nuke. Fire filled the sky and shot right up into the atmosphere, parting the clouds with a shockwave that rattled the city to its foundations. A full minute later, the explosion ended, leaving a plume of black smoke gushing into the air from the crater that'd formed where the edifice once stood.

Panting from the attack and still assumed in his transformed state, Vegeta took flight and headed to where his attack had planted his annoying adversary into the earth. Arriving there in no time at all, the man slowly lowered himself from the sky to hover above the center of the cataclysm, where he spent the next few minutes looking around for the remains of his quarry.

Sure enough, he found them. Bits and pieces of highly durable tech lay scattered around the gorge, along with a thoroughly ruined arm, one of the rocket pods the android had used before, and half a skull. The optical lens, which once served as Sentinel's eye, flickered a few times in warning before dying out.

Grunting, Vegeta raised a hand towards it and fired a couple of blasts, disintegrating both the arm and the remains of the head. _"Not taking any chances,"_ the prince thought, remembering what the last android they'd encountered had been capable of.

The warrior then powered down when the smoke cleared, giving him a few moments to catch his breath before flying back to Capsule Corp. Once he returned to the facility, he quickly flew in through the hole in the side of the main building, where he quickly saw Mrs. Briefs, his son and Bulma gathered around Doctor Briefs's body.

At first remaining calm when he approached the group, Vegeta then stopped when he saw the blue haired woman cradling her father's head in her lap with tears streaming down her cheeks. Trunks was currently being held by his grandmother, who was doing her best to keep the boy from seeing his grandfather in such a way. But despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop the youngster from hearing his mother's cries.

Sobbing, Bulma turned away from her loved one to look up at Vegeta, whom she saw standing nearby clothed in a tattered gi with burns covering his entire body. Giving the Saiyan Prince a look, she then saw the warrior nod stiffly, answering a question she didn't have the strength to ask. Upon which the blue haired scientist set her father's head down, rose to her feet, walked over to the man, and threw herself at him.

Gripping his top, Bulma cried into Vegeta's shoulder, earning a slightly surprised look from the Saiyan who, after a moment of hesitation, wrapped an arm around her in comfort.

As the woman cried and the rest of the family remained as they were the familiar form of Doctor Brief's black kitten, Tama, walked in from the corridor and towards the fallen scientist. When he stopped by his head, the cat nuzzled him momentarily, only to pull away when he realized he was no longer there.

The cat then sat down and, giving a sad meow, continued to stare at the doctor as the people in the room grieved…

XXX

(Some hours later)

When word eventually got out of the events that'd befallen Capsule Corp, the members of the Z-fighters wasted no time in dropping whatever they were doing at the time and making their way over to West City. Arriving one after the other, the ruined dining room of the Briefs was soon filled with the familiar faces of Yamcha, Krillin, Android 18, Piccolo, Gohan, Zangya and Chi-Chi, all of whom were either flown here or transported to their friends place in some other shape or form.

Once everyone had gathered at the scene of the tragedy, Vegeta wasted no time in filling them in on what had happened, telling them about the android his wife had been constructing and how it suddenly went haywire. While the news initially shocked all of them, after hearing that the Saiyan Prince had managed to destroy the retched abomination responsible for all the devastation, they quickly retired to the living room and began providing comfort for those who needed it.

With Doctor Briefs's body moved over to the couch and covered by a blanket, the assortment of guests remained in a cold and unforgiving silence while they tried to figure out what to do next. On one side of the room, Mrs. Briefs sat with her grandson, holding his hand and receiving company from Yamcha and Puar. Krillin, Vegeta, Gohan, Chi-Chi and Goten on the other hand were sitting around the coffee table beside Bulma, who was currently trying to salvage what she could from her laboratories.

Managing to recover from most of her shock when Piccolo informed her that she could simply use the dragon balls to wish her father back to life, the blue haired woman wasted no time in heading down to the science wing of the building to collect the _Dragon Radar_. However, upon arriving at the place she remembered stashing it, not only did she find a completely wrecked laboratory waiting for her, she also found the radar lying scattered all over the floor in pieces.

While the dragon ball she had in her possession was lying against the wall not too far away, the rest of her gear had been left utterly destroyed. It hadn't just been that room either.

This inevitably led to the scientist sitting at her coffee table in defeat, holding the pieces of her radar in her hand and staring down at it with a melancholic look. Allowing the components of the device to sprinkle over the table when she tilted her hand, Bulma then crossed her arms over her stomach and tried to stop herself from losing it.

Once again, for the second time that day, Vegeta was there for her. As she sat there on the couch, the woman reached for the man's hand and gripped it tightly. Though he looked away from her when she did, the Saiyan Prince allowed the woman to clench his fingers and let out her distress.

"Sentinel destroyed everything," Bulma whispered, shaking her head in grief, "My lab, my gear, my capsules, my computers… everything."

Krillin blinked, glancing down at the remains of the device that had served their group well over the past several years. Knowing that they were pretty much flying blind without it, the bald male could only swallow nervously as he looked back up at his friend, "Can you fix it?" It was a question that as acknowledged by a glance from Android 18, who was standing nearby.

The woman sniffled, "I can. But with all my equipment either broken or missing, it'll take me at least a month to rebuild and reprogram it."

"A month?" Krillin balked. "That long?" A nod was all he received in return, before Bulma leaned over and pressed her forehead into Vegeta's shoulder.

The Saiyan Prince remained silent, keeping his gaze averted but nevertheless sparing the woman a few furtive glances. Silence returned to the room shortly thereafter, with Chi-Chi extending a hand across the table to take Bulma's free one, and Gohan fixing his gaze on the destroyed radar.

Though everyone knew the woman would be able to fix the device without question, after everything she'd been through the entire morning, they knew that it would take her a while to get her mind back on track. She was obviously still shaken-up from the entire ordeal and thanks to the mess left behind by that bastard android, they knew that it would probably take a lot longer than a month before they could even start looking for the dragon balls.

For Bulma, after suffering such a loss to her family and feeling as though all of the responsibility for it rested on her shoulders, as she'd been the one to build the monstrosity's body in the first place, everyone knew that this was going to be incredibly hard for her to move on from. Considering everything that'd happened, perhaps this was a dead end for her.

However, there was one amongst them who was not willing to throw in the towel just yet.

Being one of the only people there with a clear head on his shoulders, Gohan, narrowing his eyes, rose to his feet and turned to the ceiling. His actions drawing everyone's gazes over to him, including Piccolo and Zangya's over by the window, everyone saw the spiky haired teen step into the middle of the room and focus all of his attention towards the sky.

It was a sudden shift in tone that did not go unnoticed.

"Gohan?" Bulma murmured.

"What's wrong, sweet heart?" Chi-Chi also asked, while at the same time his kid brother looked at him in confusion.

Remaining silent for several moments, the hybrid teen glanced back down at everyone around him and, after looking at all their faces, fixed his attention on the Briefs family members and smiled. "I'll be back in a bit."

Then, looking away once more, Gohan vanished in a golden flash of light, leaving his friends and family standing around the chamber in confusion.

OOO

(Otherworld)

For Goku, it was just another ordinary day living out his current incarnation on the Grand Kai's planet.

Following the visit from his family and his son's friends the previous morning, the Son father was feeling much livelier than usual and was hitting King Kai's training regimen even harder than ever. To start off his physical routine, the man was currently using wrist and ankle weights to work on his speed and power, punching and kicking the air in a blur of movement and causing sweat to fly off of him with every blow.

His attacks cutting through the sky above the meadows of the planet in all directions, the spiky haired Saiyan was watched on by the ever-present form of his mentor. Accompanied by Bubbles and Gregory, both of whom were also observing the shadow sparring fighter with interest, King Kai looked on silently as his best student buffed up his fighting skills and plowed through his routine at full throttle.

It was only after an hour of training at this stage that the group was suddenly interrupted from their session by a flash of golden light appearing directly in the center of the field. Their attention being pulled around, King Kai and Goku saw the familiar form of Gohan shimmer into view, an intense look on his face that quickly switched to its normal expression the moment he exited the dimension he'd been traveling through to get here.

"Oh, Gohan. Good morning," the overseer of the Northern Quadrant exclaimed, with Bubbles and Gregory also waving to the boy in greeting.

"Hey guys," the teen greeted pleasantly, before then turning around and looking up into the sky where his father was floating. "Yo, dad."

"Gohan? You're here?" Goku asked, quickly dropping back down to ground level and walking up to his son, who strolled over to him in kind. The man with sweat dripping down his face placed his hands on his hips, "I didn't know you would be popping in today? Is everything alright?"

"Sorry to drop in so suddenly dad, but… something important has just come up," the teen explained with a troubled expression quickly coming over him. It was an expression that his father immediately took notice of, "I need your help…"

XXX

(Some hours later)

Standing around the living room of Bulma's home, the Z-fighters continued to chat amongst themselves and help pick up the pieces left behind in the wake of their most recent fiasco. While those like Mrs. Briefs went about trying to get the place tidied up, especially the mess made by Sentinel that'd left a massive twenty meter wide hole in their dining room wall, others such as Krillin and Yamcha continued to provide comfort for Bulma.

Even though she continued to go to Vegeta for support, everyone wanted to be there to help their friend however they could.

Being conscious enough to make only a handful of decisions at the moment, the blue haired scientist set their company robots to clean up the labs and the dining room. Since they were all programmed to follow specific instructions and commands, the little automaton helpers were ideal in separating the nonessential items of the rooms from those that were important, including being able to tell the difference between tech that was unsalvageable and the stuff that was. And of course, because they didn't need food or breaks, they were tireless and dutiful in their actions, whizzing around the hallways at inhuman speeds.

For the longest time, the entire group remained in silence. It was perhaps one of the only times any of them remembered ever being quiet for so long, not knowing who to talk to or what to do. The only ones that didn't have any problems with this scenario were Piccolo, Vegeta, Zangya and Goten. While the Namekian managed to maintain his cool, knowing that the situation could be resolved one way or another, Vegeta and Zangya remained seemingly unaffected. This was mostly because both of them were stone-cold warriors and had seen their fair share of death in their lives, and while either one of them was more than capable of expressing emotions, they chose to remain collected instead.

If there was any members of their group that had to, it was them.

Goten on the other hand spent the few hours following Gohan's departure hanging around with Trunks, cheering his friend up while also taking to sitting near the latter's grandfather over by the couch. They remained there until Mrs. Briefs came by to take the two of them away and feed the youngsters some lunch, not only to cheer them up but to occupy her time as well.

Everyone had their way of coping with loss. Well… keeping herself busy was hers.

Most of the Z-fighters didn't partake in eating lunch together. Everyone just remained as they were, not really eating anything at all. After lunch time had come and gone and most of the property was being repaired, Bulma went over to sit by her grandfather and watch over him.

Tama the kitten also sat close by, positioned on the floor and staring up at his colleague and best friend in silence.

Making sure he was sleeping soundly, the woman sat by the man until she was joined by her mother. During this time, she began thinking of places to put her grandfather to rest while she went about fixing the _Dragon Radar_. She also used that time to think about her blunder and how she was going to apologize to him for creating an android that took his life.

Fortunately though, she wasn't able to think about it for very long.

When Mrs. Briefs gripped her shoulder in comfort and Bulma placed her hand on top of her mother's in response, they were suddenly startled out of their reverie by a cough and a groan. It was a collection of sounds that quickly had their eyes snap towards the deceased Doctor Briefs lying in front of them.

As soon as their attention fell upon him, they saw the man roll over and, through a half-lidded gaze, stared up at the two surprised ladies in exhaustion. Seconds later, the father's vision cleared, allowing him to see the two people standing over him.

Giving another moan of discomfort, Doctor Briefs slowly sat up, "Ugh. Why is my neck so stiff?"

His voice breaking the silence of the room immediately drew the collective attention of every single person in the area, including Piccolo, Android 18 and Vegeta. When everyone turned to the couch against the wall, they saw the recently deceased Briefs father sitting up and massaging his collar bone in confusion, which immediately set off alarm bells.

After rubbing away the soreness, the man sat up and cleared his throat, "Does anyone here have a glass of water."

"DADDY!" Bulma suddenly shouted, throwing herself at the doctor and trapping him in a hug.

Her actions surprising the old scientist, the founder of Capsule Corp also found himself locked in a hug from his beloved wife, who threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "Sweet heart! You're alive!" She even gave him a big kiss on the cheek to express her delight at seeing her husband was back.

Blinking a few times in a mixture of surprise and confusion, Doctor Briefs then gave a chuckle and returned his loved ones affections. "I'm so sorry I worried you two so much." Being sure to hug them both tightly, the man then pulled away and rubbed his wife's cheek tenderly, before then beaming at his daughter, who had tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

It was then a familiar shout from the side drew the man's attention to yet another member of his family he would never forget, "Grandpa!" Right on cue, Trunks rushed across the living room floor and leapt at the man as well, with Bulma and Mrs. Briefs giving the child enough space to jump into the elder's arms and embrace him.

The impact of his four-year-old grandson drew a chuckle from the old scientist, "Hey there, little guy."

As the family embraced in a flurry of laughter and tears, the Z-fighters standing nearby looked on with expressions of surprise and joy. While Chi-Chi brushed a tear out of her eye and took Goten's hand in hers when the boy ran up to her, Piccolo, Android 18 and Zangya smiled, Vegeta merely stood off to the side with his arms crossed and a neutral expression in play, and Yamcha and Krillin looked on in confusion.

Everyone was so focused on the Briefs family reuniting that nobody noticed the _Dragon Radar _magically repair itself on the table nearby.

The former of the pair scratched his head, "What the heck's going on?"

"I don't know, man. Your best guess is as good as mine," Krillin also replied with a similar expression of bewilderment in play.

Goten, tilting his head at the Briefs family and seeing the good old Doctor reunite with his kitten Tama, turned his attention to the woman standing next to him. "I thought Doctor Briefs was dead, mummy. How did he come back to life?"

Chi-Chi shook her head, at the same time beaming down at her son happily, "I don't know, Goten. But he's awake now."

Appearing innocently confused for a few moments longer, the child smiled once again before turning his attention back to the scene in wonder, "It's just like magic."

It was these words that suddenly had the Son mother perk up and look in the direction of Yamcha and Krillin. When their gazes met, the three human members of the old Z-gang slowly began piecing things together in their heads. Several seconds of contemplation later, they all clicked onto the exact same thought and stared back at the couch incredulously.

"Could it be?" Krillin murmured.

Yamcha swallowed nervously, "No way. Did Gohan…?"

At that exact moment, a flash of golden light suddenly occurred directly in front of the group, the photons quickly forming into the shape of a person. They then dispelled to reveal Gohan standing there, hands on his hips and a whopping big smile on his face. While the Briefs didn't take notice him at first, all of the other Z-fighters did and fixed their attention on the demi-Saiyan in surprise, around the same time the youngster turned to face them.

Zangya smirked at him, "You're back."

"Yep," the teen chirped, smiling around at his friends before then turning to his mentor, whom he could see was smiling across at him as well.

The green-skinned warrior nodded knowingly in his direction, "You went to New Namek, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh," Gohan replied, turning his attention to his mother and then towards Krillin. "I had to make a couple of detours and ask a few people for directions, but after one or two jumps across the universe I eventually managed to get there in one piece."

The realization had Krillin and Yamcha staring at the boy in amazement, with the former speaking up on behalf of the pair, "H-How did you get them to let you borrow their dragon balls?"

"It wasn't that hard actually. I just explained to the elder and his people what'd happened over here and the villagers let me use Porunga to make my wishes. Since Doctor Briefs and his family did so much for them while they were staying over here, they were more than happy to help me out," the teen said, before giving his friends a sheepish smile. "Honestly, I thought it was going to be a lot harder than that. Thank Dende we don't need to go on a several month long journey to actually get there anymore." His grin only seemed to widen. "Man, I love _Instantaneous Movement_."

Yamcha chuckled at the boy's remark, "You're one hell of a kid, Gohan."

"Yeah," Krillin also spoke up, seeing the teen smile at them and receive a hug from his mother. "Way to go, man."

Gohan turned to look at Vegeta to see how the Saiyan Prince had responded to his little back-and-forth across the cosmos. When his eyes met the warrior's, the hybrid received a nod of approval from him as well as a grunt. Upon returning it with a smile and a bow of his own, the proud fighter turned away from him and went back to staring at the couch.

Following his return and hoisting Goten onto his shoulder when the little tyke rushed over to him, everyone turned back to the Briefs family to see Bulma and everybody else beaming in Gohan's direction. When the woman expressed her gratefulness to the boy with a silent 'thank you', which brought an even warmer smile to the teen's face, she turned to her father and immediately took on a solemn look.

"Dad… I'm… I'm sorry for what happened last night," the blue haired woman whispered while shaking her head. "I never expected things to get so out of hand. That Android… I… I thought that with his programming that he was going to be just like before… and that when he came to life he would be the same Sixteen like the one we remembered. But… But it turns out there was a monster hiding inside of him and I… I let him kill you." Sniffling, Bulma rubbed her eye on the back of her hand and choked out her last words. "Damn it. I'm so sorry, daddy… I'm sorry…" She then tensed up and waited for the admonishment that was sure to come.

However, after several moments of waiting, the woman received none. Instead, the blue haired scientist felt a pat on her head and looked up to see her father fondly smiling at her. When their gazes met, Doctor Briefs gave her head a comforting rub and grinned, "It's alright, sweet heart. It's alright." The man whispered comfort to her before pulling her forward and giving her a hug. "It wasn't your fault."

Bulma protested, shaking her head in dismay, "Yes. It was…"

"No. It wasn't. None of us could have ever expected things to spiral out of control like they did. Not even you… and you're one of the best of us. That's the reality of being a scientist, Bulma," Doctor Briefs stated, pulling back and seeing his teary-eyed daughter staring back at him with sadness reflected in her gaze. "We can plan and prepare all we want when walking down the path to discovery. But no matter how hard you work, no matter how much effort you use, or how many safeguards you put in to prevent the unexpected from happening, things can still happen that are beyond our control or understanding. But as long as we endure and don't lose sight of ourselves, we'll be able to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward. That's all there is to it." The man chuckled and wiped a tear from his girl's cheek, "Don't let this mishap stop you from being the amazing scientist you are, Bulma."

Staring at the man for several moments in silence following his speech, Bulma then choked on unshed tears and beamed at her father. "You always did know what to say when I was upset." Sniffling, she took the man's hand and pressed it against her face, keeping it there before moving forward and hugging him, "I love you, dad."

The old founder smiled and returned her hug, "I know, dear. I know."

While the father and daughter embraced, and the Z-fighters standing in the background continued to watch on quietly, Krillin then had a thought and turned towards the demi-Saiyan standing by his mother's side curiously.

"By the way, Gohan, isn't the Namekian dragon supposed to grant you three wishes?" When he saw the boy look at him, the monk raised an eyebrow, "What did you use the other two wishes for?"

Grinning, the hybrid looked away, "Well, the first one I used to wish Doctor Briefs back to life. The second one I used to repair all the damages the Sentinel fight had caused to Capsule Corp and West City."

Krillin blinked, "And… the third one?"

"Oh…" Gohan shrugged and smiled brightly, "That one's a surprise."

This cryptic response left Krillin and Yamcha looking at one another in confusion. However, considering that this was their best friend's son they were talking about, they knew that the kid would have wished for something for either selfless or practical reasons, and thus had nothing to be concerned about. So, upon reaching this conclusion, everyone within earshot of the spiky haired teen turned back to watch as Doctor Briefs was brought up to speed on what'd happened following his brush with death.

As expected, he was relieved to hear that Sentinel had been destroyed by Vegeta and that the robot had been stopped. It was as though a great weight had been lifted free from their shoulders, leaving them with a sense of achievement and a feeling that things were going to be okay again. As the group stood around the living room and the robots going about cleaning up Capsule Corp's main building were baffled to find that everything had been miraculously repaired and replaced during their work, it seemed like their world was once again saved from another android crisis.

OOO

(That afternoon)

Many, many miles away from West City, far to the North where another great metropolis stood, there sat the familiar home belonging to a long forgotten enemy. With the only remnants being a massive pile of rubble and chunks of metallic debris and machinery lying about, making up both the top and basement levels of Doctor Gero's lab, there seemed to be very little that remained of the old nemesis of Son Goku's. After the last few years that'd come and gone, the place had been left pretty much undisturbed, with nothing but the forces of nature to twist and mould the debris to their liking.

Ever since Trunks and Krillin's visit here, which had left the entire lower levels of the complex buried and the rest of the lab in pieces; it was nothing but an empty graveyard now. To the Z-fighters and their friends, this place had been pretty much left forgotten.

To all but one of course.

At the base of the cliff where the lab was once situated, the ground grass-covered ground slowly started to churn before a large silver drill suddenly shot out of it. This was immediately followed by the metallic body of a thoroughly beaten up and damaged Sentinel. Dazed, burnt, and a little bit confused, the armor plated android's gears ground and churned loudly as he pulled himself to the surface and, after regaining his footing, walked out into the open.

Here, you could see that not only was an entire half of his body missing, including his right arm, side and shoulder, but the android had half a head missing too. He was like two-face, except without the other side to shout back at him. This pretty much left most of the mechanics making up the inner workings of his frame exposed to the air, classing the android as nothing more than a wrecked piece of hardware.

At least… that's what a normal person would believe.

"_**S-S-System reboot complete. Primary threat successfully evaded,"**_ Sentinel spoke, sparks flying from the side of his cranium as he recovered from the thorough beating he'd received. _**"Compiling files. Assessing damages. Scanning."**_ A few beeps of his optical sensor later and the android smiled. Or rather… half smiled. _**"Damage to primary combat chassis: thirty-eight percent. Damage to nuclear furnace: five percent. Damage to central processing unit: zero percent."**_ Cracking its neck, the android marched towards the mound of rubble that had previously been his creator's home, all the while taking stock of his body's condition. _**"Energy levels at sixty percent. Good. I can work with that."**_

Even so, being hit by that last attack at the closing stages of his fight back in West City had still come as quite a shock to the robot. Despite his overwhelming confidence and mathematical certainty at being able to defeat Vegeta in the state he was in, the android failed to anticipate the power boosts of the man's transformation stages, which had been a significant blunder on his part. However, as soon as he'd realized he didn't stand a chance against the Prince in his Super Saiyan form, the robot quickly devised a plan to escape his foe, while at the same time making it look as though he'd been destroyed.

The android took the brunt of the blast in the side, ensuring the main components of his form didn't suffer any serious damage in the cataclysm to follow. Then, while Vegeta flew over to check on the crater he supposedly ended up in, the android detached his damaged parts and fled underground, ensuring he covered his tracks at the same time.

It'd been a useful trick and a necessary sacrifice on his part in order to make a clean escape. Sentinel had also made certain to set aside the information he'd gained from today's battle for future reference.

Marching up the field of boulders and scrap metal of the ruined plateau, the android slowly began searching the area for something… _anything_ that he could use as a temporary joining agent. It wasn't until he happened upon a discarded android storage pod lying wedged in the rubble with the number '16' written on it did he know he was in the right place.

Approaching the unit, the robot took a moment to analyze the damage and rust and, realizing it still had salvageable material he could use, extended his only working arm towards it and opened the plates on his guard. Cables then shot out and plugged into the pod, slipping into all the open areas and places with wiring sticking out. After several seconds of sparks and electricity bursts, Sentinel then disassembled the key components of the capsule and pulled them back towards his frame.

Using the parts he'd managed to grab, he was able to not only cover up the damages done to his side and head, he was also able to create a makeshift arm, leaving one side of his form fully armored while his damaged right side had a skeleton limb. Flexing it and its makeshift fingers, checking to make sure it was responding properly. Sentinel then turned his attention back to the area.

"_**A crude design, but it will do until I can build a proper replacement for it."**_ Scanning the hill of rubble and debris for several minutes, using his specially modified sensors to search underneath the various obstructions, the android quickly saw that some of Doctor Gero's lab had remained intact. Though much of the basement had been buried and most of the tech inside had been blown to pieces, there were still many things left lying around for him to use.

Even some of the small storage spaces for machinery and computers with specially installed shock buffers had also managed to survive the hell they'd been put through. It was all the comfort the android needed to know he could pick up where he'd left off.

"_**First order of business is to repair this body,"**_ Sentinel stated, raising a hand and extending his cables into the rubble. One by one he began plucking random bits of metal debris out of the earth, salvaging what he could of his original creator's place of business. He was lucky that the good Doctor had designed his old lab using the finest material and hardware he could steal, because even after all the exposure to the harsh environment, most of it hadn't rusted in the least.

While he continued to scavenge the area, Sentinel smiled once again, _**"Second order of business is to create a base of operations. Then I can begin work on my next major project."**_

As far as he was concerned, sacrificing a third of his body to make it look as though he'd been blown to bits by Vegeta's blast had been a great way to throw the Saiyan Prince off his tail. Now that he and the Briefs family believed he was destroyed, Sentinel now had plenty of space to recover from the damages he'd received, upgrade his frame, and construct a home to conduct his next set of tasks.

After all, he had plenty of objectives and schemes in his head to follow up on, all of which involved improving upon his current form and taking over the world.

If he was going to do that, then he needed power and resources. That first one was a must.

There was an entire city nearby where he could 'borrow' technology and hardware from, and with the Z-fighters off his tail and a destroyed lab in an isolated area to work with; Sentinel had all the time in the world…

(TO BE CONTINUED)


	13. Where We Left Off

Author's Note: Well folks. Here it is. The final montage chapter you've all been waiting for before the end of the Seven Year Gap.

Be warned, this chapter was, like, fifty pages long when I wrote it, so it's safe to say you'll have a lot of fun reading it over the next day or two. I know I did.

Anyhow, hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

**Dragonball Z**

**Legacies**

_Where We Left Off_

(Two days later)

Hearing nothing but the wind brushing past her hair and cowl, the white haired form of Paprika stood atop a spire of rock with her eyes firmly shut and the most intense look pulled across her face. It wasn't that she was terrified of standing on top of that pillar hundreds of feet above the ground. Far from it. She was simply focusing on the energy swirling around inside her and concentrating it around a certain point, which was revealed moments later when her eyes snapped open and, taking a step forward, she threw her right hand forward and unleashed it all in one go.

"HA!" With a bellowing shout, a pink flash of light left her hand and rocketed towards the deserted mountain standing several kilometers in front of her. The blast quickly impacted against its side and detonated with the force of a nuke, incinerating the entire front portion of the edifice and bringing down half of it in the form of rubble and dust.

After the cloud of smoke lifted from the area, it revealed a blast-shaped crater in the side of the remaining half of the mountain and a decent part of the landscape covered in massive chunks of debris.

Clicking her tongue irritably, the green-skinned Makyan with the black uniform and red scarf stepped out of her stance and clenched her fists again. "Not as tough as the mountains in the north, but these ones are still quite sturdy…" Taking a deep breath, the young girl huffed, "I've been training like hell for weeks and I still haven't made any jumps. Damn it…"

Every time it seemed like she was getting somewhere with her power and skills, that bastard of a half-Saiyan simply moved one step ahead of her even faster, just to stay in the lead. It was mind numbingly annoying and frustrating.

"Hey, Paprika. What's up?"

And speak of the devil…

Eye twitching, the white haired girl glanced over her shoulder to see who it was that suddenly called her name.

Sure enough, appearing right there in her peripheral vision, she saw Son Gohan himself, dressed in the same gi he'd worn to the world tournament, land directly behind her with that irritating smile on his face. She didn't even question how the hell he'd managed to find her all the way out here, considering she wasn't even trying to hide her energy signature. However, his arrival at this place did raise a few other inquiries…

"Blowing up mountains again? That's cool. I usually do it while I'm training as well, but I try to keep the damages to a minimum. The earth has enough problems to deal with supporting over four billion people and animals on it. Having a couple of super powered aliens blasting the heck out of its landscapes is something it can do without," the demi-Saiyan teen spoke, obviously as a joke.

Despite his words seemingly falling on deaf ears, Gohan continued to grin across at the girl's back as the wind whipped past them and the awkwardness of the moment started to settle in.

Eventually feeling the sensation tickling at the crook in his neck, the young Saiyan cleared his throat and placed his hands on his hips, "So what's happening on your side of the ball? Been training hard for the next _Tenkaichi Budokai_?" He then saw Paprika turn around and, after throwing him a hard glare, took a couple of steps towards him. Not sensing anything off about her actions, Gohan continued to speak in his same, good-natured manner. "Considering how strong you are now, you must have been working your butt off these past couple years. I bet your Super Makyan form is much more powerful then it was before if your current energy level is anything to go by-"_** CRACK!**_

Gohan's comments were effectively cut off when he received a hard punch to the face from the girl, who managed to cock his head to the side and draw blood. Shaking her fist out, the Makyan stared at him firmly for a moment before turning heel and facing the destroyed mountain once again, leaving the slightly surprised half-Saiyan rubbing his now bruised cheek.

"Shut up, Son. You're ruining a perfectly good training session," the Makyan spoke in a harsh tone of voice. She grunted immediately afterwards, "Honestly, I can't stand your incessant blabbering…"

Her remark to his appearance and her punch had Gohan chuckle weakly, "Heh… still sore at me for knocking you around back then, huh?" Massaging his jaw and rolling it, the youngster grinned across at her. "I guess I deserved that one."

Though he was a bit skeptical on that one, considering he did blow up her home planet all those years ago, the girl still packed a wicked right hook. That much was clear.

"What the hell do you want?" Paprika asked, not even bothering to give the boy the courtesy of eye contact.

Upon nursing his throbbing cheek, the demi-Saiyan beamed brightly at her, "I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute…" He then gestured over his shoulder with his thumb, "Just for a minute. Not here though. I need to speak with you somewhere else."

His words prompting the girl to look over her shoulder again, Paprika glared momentarily at the incredibly cheerful Gohan. Upon taking in his warm smile and kind eyes, she once again turned away from him and focused her attention back on the countryside.

"Pass."

The young warrior immediately appeared disappointed, "Aw. But… why?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" the Makyan asked in amazement, looking around to see the Saiyan drop his arm to his side in confusion. Upon seeing his reaction, the girl sighed and raised a hand in defeat, "Kai, you're as dense as the fucking moon." She then jabbed her fingers in the air, "Three reasons. One: I hate you. Two: you blew up my home planet. Three: after all the shit I had to go through in the past five years because of what you did, do you honestly think that I would waste my time and energy speaking with you outside of the ring? Even though I'm not out to murder you in your sleep, I'm still your damn enemy. " Not receiving an immediate answer except a few confused blinks and a blank stare, Paprika quickly gave up on him fixed her attention elsewhere. "Ugh. It's useless trying to explain anything to you. Just leave me alone."

Sensing hostilities growing, Gohan sighed and raised his hands, "Alright. Alright. I will." Stepping to the side, he then resolutely gestured to the landscape behind him, "But only after you come with me for a couple of minutes. I just want to show you something. After that I'll leave you alone and we won't have to speak to each other ever again… okay?"

Despite his voice and persistence grating on her like nails on a chalkboard, the Makyan considered his words carefully for several moments. As much as she wanted to blow him off entirely and take a shot at him for continuing to bug her, the girl relented for a couple of reasons, the first being that he was still much stronger than her.

The second was that even if she tried to get physical, the boy was stubborn and would probably stick around until she did something other than say 'no'. He did seem to be that kind of person on the surface and if her history on him was correct then that was most likely the case.

After a full minute of silence and continuing to feel the boy's pleading eyes bore into the back of her skull, Paprika eventually came to the conclusion that the monkey wasn't going to leave her alone no matter what she did to try and stave him off. So, after giving an irritable sigh and a slump of her shoulders, the white-haired fighter spun around and cursed, "For the love of… FINE! Fine! I'll come with you…" She then grumbled under her breath when she saw Gohan's smile reappear, "Lousy, stupid, airheaded, orange-wearing clown."

Completely missing the spite towards him, the half-Saiyan took flight and Paprika followed close behind. Figuring she wouldn't like him being anywhere within contact distance, Gohan decided not to try and teleport her to the location and simply led her there instead. Setting a comfortable pace, the pair left the deserts of the West and headed South-East, during which time neither of them said a word to each other. All they did was glide along at a reasonable speed in silence and kept a safe, breathing distance from each other, with the half-Saiyan glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure the girl was still behind him.

Every time his eyes landed on her, he saw the Makyan glaring at him with her arms crossed and a suspicious expression in play.

That was all Gohan needed to know that she was at least going to stick with him until the end of this journey.

For the next few minutes they glided along, watching as the landscape around them quickly transformed into forest covered mountains, canyons and plateaus. Recognizing the scenery as being the backdrop making up Mount Paozu, Paprika was about to ask the boy why the heck they were going to his home until she suddenly saw him drop altitude. Sticking to him, she descended as well until they landed softly in a grass-covered clearing beside a very familiar waterfall and river.

Looking around at what she realized was one of her meditation spots, the Makyan then shot the boy a frown as he walked forward, "Alright. What the hell did you bring me all the way out here for?"

Still smiling from ear to ear, the teen glanced over his shoulder to meet Paprika's gaze, "I just wanted to apologize for everything that's happened between us. After all the stuff that's gone on in the last several years, the androids showing up, Cell, Bojack and everything, living on this planet must've been really tough on you." Seeing her narrow her eyes on him, the half-Saiyan continued in earnest. "I… also wanted to thank you for looking out for my little brother whenever he went out on his little adventures."

Caught a little bit off guard by that last part, the white haired girl looked at her chief rival in bewilderment, "You… knew I was…"

"Even though I'm sometimes not around when Goten goes outside to play, I still know exactly where he is and wherever he ends up," Gohan informed, tapping the side of his head with a warm grin. "You can hide your ki signature really well whenever you're on another part of the planet. But you can't hide whenever a second energy signature manages to find you. Squirt pretty much blew the whistle on your position the first time he ran into you outside my house."

The Makyan blinked a couple of times before looking off with a grunt, arms still folded and ire still burning brightly. "I have no intention of harming any of your friends or family… especially your little brother. Unlike some of the other enemies you encountered in the past, I'm not a monster." She then glanced back at him momentarily, "I welcome any opportunity to show kindness and care to the uncorrupted… even if they are the blood of the person I detest most in this world."

Gohan lightened up at her sincere response, "Sure. I wanted to come out and thank you personally, but I knew that words wouldn't be enough. So I… well…" Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, he then stepped aside and gestured across the river. "I wanted to do something special to show my appreciation."

When Paprika looked in the direction he was pointing, her eyes widened in surprise when she found herself staring at something she thought she'd long forgotten.

Standing plain in her sights, sitting alongside the forest and river, was a large, purple house made of stone with numerous windows, dome-shaped tiled roofs giving the building the appearance of mushrooms clustered together, a chimney, a beautiful garden out front, and a contemporary archway. Bearing the appearance of a cottage in a fantasy setting, it not only had greenery growing all over it, there was also a watermill not too far from the house giving the place a turbine to work grains and other miscellaneous material.

However, this was apparently no ordinary setup or building, as the sight of the house had Paprika walk forward and reach out with a hand. "I-Is that…?"

"I know it's not like the one back on your home planet, but I did the best I could with the wish that I had," Gohan explained, smiling at the girl as she stared across at the house in disbelief. "Since you're probably not used to living out in the wilderness like some other people I know, I wanted to do something to help you out. So I asked the dragon of New Namek to build you a house." He then lowered his hand and regarded the girl with a soft look. "I stocked up the pantry, moved the furniture and bought you some other stuff to get you started. It's not much, but…"

"No, no, it's fine," Paprika murmured, not taking her eyes off the building for a second. "It… almost looks like the house I grew up in with my…" She then stopped when she realized what she was about to say and glanced across at Gohan. Considering his expression for but a moment, she then returned to a normal standing position and frowned at the structure. "It's very nice."

Smiling at her remark, Gohan nodded across the river, "Do you want me to give you a tour?"

Paprika quickly shook her head, "No, I'm good." She then shot him a glare, one that had the boy lean away a little, "I did say I would only speak with you for a couple of minutes… so…"

Nodding in understanding, the half-Saiyan quickly turned to leave. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a key and tossed it to the Makyan, who caught it and held it firmly between her fingers. Upon which the youngster then gave her a pleasant wave, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to drop by and ask. Okay?"

"Whatever," Paprika replied quickly, at the same time showing him her back. "Now get lost."

Satisfied with her response, the half-Saiyan then placed his fingers to his forehead and vanished in a golden flash. After seeing the boy leave via teleport, Paprika then took a moment to look over the house and check out the key she'd been given.

Inspecting it for several seconds, a warm smile then crossed the demon girl's lips and, clenching the key in the palm of her hand, decided to go check out the home.

Though it wasn't like the one she had back on her former planet, it was close enough.

"_I'll be sure to punch him extra hard the next time we meet,"_ Paprika thought with a small smirk in play.

XXX

(One Year Later)

Things on earth really quieted down following the incident at Capsule Corp. Thanks to Vegeta, the abomination the Z-fighters later dubbed Sentinel 16 had been wiped clean off of the face of the planet and with Gohan's quick jump across space, they were able to repair all of the damages the android had caused to the surrounding landscape. While the situation had indeed appeared dire at first, the fully automated enemy fighter didn't actually cause that much destruction to be classified as a Cell-level threat. After the Saiyan Prince had finished dealing with him, the man claimed that the android Bulma had created was only about as strong as the original Sixteen, perhaps even stronger.

Whatever the case, with the robot destroyed, Doctor Briefs brought back to life, and the West City region restored to its previously serene state, the defenders of earth could once again return to their usual routines.

In the next several months to follow, Krillin finally stopped beating around the bush and proposed to Android 18, who gladly accepted with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. The pair had the ceremony two weeks later in a temple not too far from Gohan's house. As expected, every one of the Z-fighters attended the event, including the Satan family and Zangya, the latter of whom ended up being the maid of honor. It was a simple affair with very few embellishments, but a terrific day all the same. Even Piccolo managed to have a good time at the dinner, standing in the corner chatting away with Gohan and all the others who decided to swing by his spot. And as expected of the occasion, everyone was sure to congratulate the newly married couple on finally tying the knot, who headed off on their honeymoon shortly thereafter.

The wedding turned out to be the biggest highlight of the year for everyone involved. It also served as a major turning point for Krillin who, after years of being on the receiving end of vicious beatings at the hands of villains far more powerful than him and going through more hell then any normal person would have to go through in their entire lifetime, the Z-fighters included, managed to get what he considered the girl of his dreams. Yamcha made extra certain to praise the guy for bagging the hottest babe their group had ever come across, which promptly ended in him receiving a frying pan to the head from Bulma.

After that weekend, the days slowly pedaled back to a regular pace. Bulma, albeit reluctantly, returned to her work in the laboratories getting her projects done and restarting the Android 16 remodeling from scratch. This time though, she made certain to scrub the files that created Sentinel in the first place and began taking the construction of the automaton one step at the time.

As an extra precaution to the overall scheme, the woman decided not to give the robot the same frame right from the get-go. Wanting to avoid yet another accident at the facility, Bulma went right back to square one with plastic, a safety she was planning to install into all future robots. She also had an idea on how to make the new android more 'people friendly', a result she was really looking forward to testing.

Before anyone knew it, an entire year had once again come and gone.

In the Son household, Goten was another term older and, true to his Saiyan genetics, he was growing fast. Now at four, the boy had become just as articulate and strong as Gohan was at the same age. And just like his older brother, the sibling had developed the same loving, carefree nature as the hybrid fighter, with the exact same strengths and capabilities that would put most other kids to shame.

This also included a penchant for literacy and numeracy, a skill that he was currently practicing as part of his schooling at home.

Sitting at his desk in his bedroom surrounded by books, in a setting very familiar to all those who lived in that house, the child dressed in the orange and blue prince-style uniform with black spiky hair could be seen scribbling away on a graph paper. Going through his Year 6 geometry with a smile on his face and tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Goten was really letting his textbook have it.

"There… now… if I was to arrange the coordinates this way," the youngster murmured to himself, only to suddenly be interrupted from his train of thought by the door to his bedroom opening. Looking across, Goten saw his mother, dressed in her familiar yellow household robes and shoes, walk in with a tray of sandwiches, apples and juice. The sight of her delivery had the child beam excitedly, "Hi mum."

"Hello son. Studying hard?"

"I think so," the boy replied, quickly glancing back at his work and flipping through his pages in reverse. "I've just finished the entire chapter on shapes and moved into the final chapter on Cartesian coordinate systems. After this I'll be switching back to my algebra."

"That's excellent," Chi-Chi exclaimed brightly, setting the tray of goodies down next to him and leaning over to check on her boy's work. After running through the pages he'd already completed, the woman gave an approving nod and patted her son on the shoulder, "Well done Goten. After you're done with this portion, I think we can move on to your biology homework in the afternoon. How does that sound?"

"Yeah," the child chirped with an enthusiastic nod. "I want to learn more about cicadas and dragonflies. They look so cool when they're all grown up."

The mother giggled, "Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to study your insects, Goten. But I think we'll need to start setting you up on learning about the process of photosynthesis and plants for the next unit as soon as possible. We can't have you hanging around the basics the entire year, right?"

"Okay," Goten agreed while taking one of the apple slices she'd brought for him and popping it into his mouth.

While Chi-Chi beamed at her youngest child and Goten moved onto the next page of his book, the sound of loud shouts and heavy fists cutting through the air suddenly drew their attention out the window. When the pair looked across the grassland that was their backyard and past the oak tree standing several meters away from their house, the mother and son saw a familiar orange figure dart across the sky in a series of barely visible blurs. They watched the anomaly continue to streak through the air at light speed before eventually reappearing out of his dimension engaged in a heated shadow sparring match.

Adorned in a pair of orange gi pants and a blue belt, with massive weight bands that had the appearance of padding slipped around his wrists and ankles, the spiky haired form of a sixteen year old Gohan could be seen going through the motions of yet another fierce training session. Sweat flying off of him with every punch and kick he threw at speeds humans would not be able to track, the boy shouted and grunted with every combination he unleashed, attacking from the one spot before beginning to move about the air at random.

At first glance it seemed like the teen was the only one out there. But on closer inspection, the family indoors saw not only Icarus sitting out there on the grass and watching him, but the boy's friend Lime was also out there, sitting by the dragon and watching her friend work.

She was obviously amazed at the sheer skill and speed the half-Saiyan was displaying, and who wouldn't be. Gohan was clearly fighting in a manner that no other human on earth fought, including her grandfather.

Chi-Chi sighed as she straightened up and placed a hand on her hip, "There he goes again; tearing it up like there's no tomorrow."

As he watched his older brother punch and kick away at the air with amazement reflected in his eyes, the young Goten couldn't help the excited smile that slowly formed on his lips.

Yelling out as he repeatedly cut the air with planet crushing attacks, Gohan then performed a stylish aerial spin kick before descending to the ground. Stopping just an inch above the grass, the teen flew forward with an onslaught of punches and a high kick, which he then followed up with a backwards summersault that sent him into the sky. Upon securing a good altitude once again, he continued throwing combinations of lightning fast blows, utilizing attacks and moves from both his father's and Piccolo's fighting styles. Though the speed he moved at made it impossible to tell the difference between any of his strikes, it was still an impressive display nonetheless.

The sixteen year old Lime, wearing a yellow, loose fitted blouse with a tasteful red skirt befitting her age, whistled when she saw the raven haired teen throw another wide hook, which was then instantly followed by a barrage of side-kicks and a rapid fire series of jabs. "That's amazing, Gohan. It sounds like you're lobbing cannon balls with every attack."

With one last shout, the boy thrust a right corkscrew across the grasslands towards the mountains. As soon as his strike was thrown, a sonic boom rang out followed by a gust of wind that rippled over the grass and eventually struck the side of the distant edifice. The attack's impact over five kilometers away took the form of a blast of dust and rubble that shot up into the air in all directions, showing just how much force he actually put behind the blow.

Icarus squawked at the sight of the cataclysm, whereas Lime stared in awe.

Satisfied with the results, Gohan turned back to his audience member and grinned, "I'm in really good form today. If I keep at it, I'm sure I'll be able to use these things in the gravity room no problem." He flexed the massive weight bands he was wearing, which looked more like a set of red tires than anything else.

"How much do you think they'll actually weigh when you get in there?"

"Since they're imbued with demon magic, several hundred thousand times more if I really push it. But I don't want to kill myself. They're already set at four tons a piece. The highest I can actually go is forty tons altogether, but that's only if I'm in peak condition," Gohan replied, holding one up and effortlessly jabbing out with it. After a few shots he pulled it back. "Sure, it's a bit old fashioned, but a little bit of old every now and then has always been good in my books."

"That's what my grandpa says to me sometimes." Lime grinned from her spot on the grass, "How long do you think it would take me to become strong enough to lift one of those on my own?"

"Honestly?" Looking up thoughtfully for a moment and gauging the girl's power level, the teen Saiyan grinned, "If you'd started doing this sort of stuff about three years ago, I probably would've been able to get you to hold at least one of these by now. Maybe even two."

"Ah, shoot," the country girl jabbed the air, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Figures. I should have started grandpa's martial arts training earlier. I was lazy."

Gohan grinned in amusement, "Is he giving you the full Master Roshi treatment or is he doing his own thing?"

"Ugh." The brown haired girl with the ponytail groaned and placed her cheek in her hand, "You don't know the half of it. Good thing I've got the day off today. If he'd sent me out there this morning to work on the fields, swim up the rivers and push those damn boulders across the valleys for the hundredth time, I'd probably be dead right now."

Ever since the Sentinel incident back in Capsule Corp, Lime had managed to convince her grandfather to start training her in his martial arts. While the old man had been hesitant at first, he eventually conceded to his beloved granddaughter's pleading and started her on the fighter's path.

Taking inspiration from Gohan's methods, the retired warrior not only had the girl working on her technical skills, but her strength and speed as well. To put it simply, if he was going to be teaching her his family's martial arts, he was damn well going to teach her properly, and what better place was there to start out then the fundamentals.

Obviously his granddaughter had been motivated by Gohan's attitude to knuckle down into something constructive and practical in her life. Considering how much she enjoyed spending time with him, it made sense she would want to start doing the same stuff he did in order to have something else to talk with him about.

"Keep at it. From what I can sense you're making excellent progress," Gohan said with an encouraging smile from up high.

Taking his words to heart, Lime smiled back at him sweetly, "Don't worry, Gohan. I will." Her exclamation earned a delightful chirp from the pink dragon lying on the grass directly beside her.

Just before Gohan could sink back into another hard routine of punches and kicks, the pattering of footsteps and a voice quickly drew his attention towards the house.

"Big brother!" When Lime and the hybrid turned, they saw Goten rushing across the grass towards them with a thousand megawatt smile on his face and eyes sparkling with joy. Skidding to a stop not too far from them, the boy planted his feet into the ground and beamed at his airborne sibling.

Gohan greeted the youngster in kind. "Hey, squirt. What's up?"

"Can you teach me how to fight like you, big brother?" Goten asked, his face all a glow as he stood there with his hands at his sides and eyes set on the powerful demi-Saiyan. "Please. I've finished my homework and mum said I could spend the rest of the day with you if I wanted to."

At first caught off guard by his brother's request, the teen then allowed a smile to form on his face before he started to float back down to the grass. "You want to learn how to do martial arts?" Seeing the child nod his head vigorously, Gohan let out a chuckle. Touching down gently, he then marched up to the four-year-old and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't know. Learning how to fight like me takes a lot of practice and discipline. Are you sure you're up to it, little guy?"

Goten nodded a second time, "Uh-huh." He then brought his hands up and formed them into fists of self-assurance and determination. "You're so fast and strong, big brother… much stronger than Vegeta and daddy… and I want to be able to do the same stuff that you can do." The boy then pulled away a little and focused his gaze on the ground anxiously. "I know you're busy training with Mr. Piccolo, Big Sister Zangya and Videl every week, but if Trunks is starting to train with his dad, I want to start training to become strong as well."

Feeling a sense of pride swell in his chest at his little brother's words, Gohan gave the youngster one last nod before reaching forward and placing a hand on top of his head. "Alright then. If this is what you really want to do, then let's do it. I'll teach you everything I know." Upon seeing Goten's expression brim with excitement, the teen glanced towards Lime and Icarus, and gestured the girl towards them. "Hey. Wanna join in?"

Perking up in surprise, the farmer girl quickly responded, "Yeah. Sure." Springing to her feet, the cheerful audience member jogged over to the pair, leaving Icarus lying on his patch with his tail wagging behind him.

"Okay, Lime. Stand over here next to Goten and both of you turn to face me." Watching her do as instructed, the teen then stepped away and focused his attention on the pair. Upon sizing them up, the half-Saiyan made an approving gesture. "Alright then. Let's get started. You guys know how to take a basic horse-riding stance, right?"

Lime nodded, "Uh-huh."

"L-Like this?" Goten asked, standing with his feet shoulder-width apart and his fists held at his sides, primed and ready. The girl standing next to him did the exact same thing, smiling happily when she saw Gohan nod towards her before then approaching his younger brother.

"That's good, Goten. Just remember to relax your shoulders and bend your knees a little," the teen said, pushing the boy's arms down a little and nudging his back up. Once he was certain the child was upright, Gohan then stood between them and took a stance as well. Not caring that he was still carrying twelve tons of weight on his person, the boy then began going through the movements with them, at the same time watching his brother closely. "Now, the basic Chokuzuki can be thrown from this position. Remember to distribute your weight evenly as you punch using a twisting motion with your fist, arm and shoulder." He then threw his fist forward, an action which was perfectly mimicked by his little brother and Lime next to him. "Got it?"

"Yes," Goten nodded.

Gohan grinned, "Good. Now for the second motion. When you bring your fist back, make sure you return it to the same position as before. The second you pull it back, you let loose the right one." He then threw a punch with his right, which Goten and Lime copied. "This will give you your standard one-two combo for this style."

And so Goten's training in the art of fighting began. As the older brother walked the youngster and his best friend through the basic attacks, moving them through a few different styles over the next hour or so, the group was unknowingly watched on from the house by the ever-cheerful Chi-Chi. Eyes shimmering with delight as she witnessed her older son begin teaching his little brother the art of fighting, the Son mother felt her heart soar as she saw the spirit of her husband burning brightly in both of them.

Meanwhile, just like the mother was watching from the doorway of her home, the group was also looked on from afar by the caped form of Piccolo, who could be seen standing under his usual tree with his arms folded and his characteristic passive stare fixed upon the family at the bottom of the hill.

XXX

(Some Months Later)

(Satan City)

A knock on the door echoed throughout the enormous mansion that was Hercule Satan's house, informing all who was currently inside that there was a visitor. About several seconds after the noise was made, the door was opened, followed shortly by Jenkins stepping into view. As soon as the old butler's head popped into view, his serious gaze turned downwards to see a blonde haired girl in a green singlet top and jeans standing in front of him.

"Hello, Jenkins," the teen greeted cheerfully, putting a smile on the man's face.

"Ah. Erasa. Good morning," the family's runner replied as he pulled the door open further. "You're looking well."

"Same to you," the blonde exclaimed, before leaning to the side and peering into the enormous hallway of the lavish home. "Would Videl happen to be around, by any chance?"

The old servant chuckled and stepped aside, simultaneously ushering the visitor through, "She's currently in the backyard doing her nine o'clock exercises. Don't worry. You won't find Mr. Satan anywhere around the house. He's going to be out running errands for the rest of the day."

"Sweet. Thanks so much," Erasa said, quickly stepping in so that the man could shut the door behind them. Once again the blonde teenager found herself gawking at the sheer size and extravagance of her best friend's home, admiring all of the furniture, artwork and decorum making up the interior of the Champ's domain.

Nodding in approval at how polished and tidy the place was, courtesy of the home's various maids and servants, the visitor to the mansion wasted no time in making her way to the back of the building. Escorted by Jenkins the entire way through, Erasa then had the door to the back porch opened up for her and was given directions by the man as to where she could find her schoolmate. The blonde made certain to thank the family's butler before heading down the steps and into Hercule Satan's billionaire garden.

Passing by the large pool and the many bushes and palms lining the beds, the teen soon made her way to the area where Videl was; a backyard driveway where the family's other vehicles were currently parked outside the garage.

As expected, Erasa found her friend there going through her morning warm up routines only… it wasn't what she was expecting.

The teen blinked in astonishment when she saw Videl bench-pressing one of the family's Hummer's, sitting directly underneath it dressed in an orange and blue gi, and suspending the vehicle a couple feet above the ground. From the expression on her face, the girl looked as though she wasn't even trying, but had apparently gone through a much harder routine sometime earlier. However, Videl's previous workouts were the least of Erasa's concerns as the blonde continued to watch as her best friend lifted an excess of over a ton of weight over her head like it was just a one kilogram dumbbell.

After a couple minutes of standing there gaping like a fish, Erasa eventually shook herself out of her daze and strolled forward, bending over to smile at her hardworking schoolmate lying across the metal bench. "Damn, girl. A little over excessive, don't you think?"

It was at this point the raven haired fighter finally acknowledged her friend's presence, "Oh. Hey Erasa. I didn't see you there. Glad you could make it." She then turned back to her makeshift gym equipment. "Hang on a second, just finishing up here."

Performing a couple more reps, Videl then moved the vehicle one-handedly over her and set it aside, allowing it to touch down and engage its massive wheels. Once she'd moved it off of her, the teen then leapt to her feet and rolled her arms, loosening herself up after a good session.

"Woo. That was great."

Considering the Hummer for a moment, Erasa then looked at her friend in amazement, "You never told me you could lift cars, Videl. Since when the heck could you do that?"

"Oh… since I started training like this a couple years ago," Videl replied, gripping her shoulder and rotating her arm, before moving to adjust her weighted wrist bands. "It was tough at first, but after several months of hard pushup, sit-up and squat routines wearing ridiculously heavy loads… pushing cars and tossing trucks is like child's play to me."

Blinking a few times in surprise, Erasa then cracked a smile, "So… is that the reason why you've been taking so many months off of school to study at home? Have you been taking super secret fighting lessons under your dad?"

"Well… yes and no. I've been taking a lot of martial arts seminars and classes over the holidays and semesters," Videl answered, returning to a proper standing position and smiling across at her schoolyard companion. "But my dad wasn't the one that's been teaching me. It was… somebody else… a very close friend of mine."

Finding some juicy gossip in the girl's words, the blonde clapped her hands together excitedly and grinned at her raven haired counterpart, "Ooh. Would this 'close friend' happen to be this mysterious Son Gohan I've been hearing so much about?"

Smiling, the teen in the orange gi shrugged and looked away, "May-be."

"I saw him fight in the final match of the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament a couple years ago. I thought he looked pretty cool," Erasa remarked, at the same time taking a step closer out of intrigue. "Just how strong is he exactly? If he was able to beat you in a fight, then he must be a pretty tough cookie."

"Oh, you have _no_ idea," Videl chuckled with a grin, walking up to her friend and clapping her on the shoulder lightly. "Gohan's so strong, he makes dad and I look like a couple of insects compared to him."

Processing the Champ's daughter's words and following her back toward the front porch, the blonde teen then gave a light chuckle when she analyzed the confident smile on Videl's face, "Now I know _that's_ not true. Your dad's the strongest in the entire world, Videl. I mean… he beat Cell for crying out loud… and that guy was monstrously powerful."

Looking her friend's way for a couple of seconds, the teen with the pigtails then shrugged while stopping beside her porch's steps. "It seems I have a little bit of explaining to do about that. But… I think I'll hold off on the long talk until Gohan gets here, which should be in the next couple of minutes." Videl smiled, reaching out with her senses and picking up the distinct signature of her best friend and sparring partner approaching on the wind.

Erasa's face lit up with excitement as she stood beside her classmate, "Really. Y-You mean… he's coming here? Today?"

"Of course. What? Did you think I invited you over to my place just so we could hang out?" Videl asked, smiling across at the blonde now expressing excitement and finally being able to meet the mysterious country boy. "Gohan's still new to the city and doesn't know that many people around here, so I figured I could introduce him to some of my friends from school. Getting you two acquainted with each other seems like a great way to start him out."

"Cool," Erasa chirped with her visage bright and full of enthusiasm. "Man… you've told me so much about him already. I can't wait to see what he's actually like."

"Well, it's a good thing you won't have wait very long." Videl's grin suddenly widened before she started waving up towards the sky, as if greeting somebody who'd just arrived.

Confused by her friend's actions, Erasa decided to see who she was hailing. It then came as a massive shock to the girl when she suddenly saw a teenage boy around their age, with short spiky black hair that defied gravity and wearing an orange and blue gi with a pack slung over his shoulder, float down from the sky and land in front of them like it was an everyday thing. She continued to gawk at the stranger when he adjusted his bag and approached the pair with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Hey, Gohan."

"Hey, Videl," the hybrid greeted, a response that earned a warm grin from his pen pal.

"Decided to fly today?"

"Yeah. Even though I could've teleported here I miss taking the long routes over the mountains and countryside," the teenager replied as he stopped in front of the two girls and acknowledged them in his characteristic manner. "The morning breeze is really refreshing after a hard night of training."

The human fighter tilted her head at him slyly, "Be honest with me; do you actually sleep eight hours anymore?"

"Hmm…" The teen looked up and scratched his cheek thoughtfully, "A little bit iffy around seven. But I guess since I've got Saiyan blood flowing through my veins, sleep isn't that big of an issue for me. Vegeta says it has something to do with how our bodies naturally produce enzymes that give us more energy to stay awake and fight long periods."

Videl grinned in amusement, "Kind of sucks how he's the only one that knows anything about your race's biology."

This drew a nervous chuckle from the young male, "Yeah. It kind of does." It was then he noticed the blonde haired girl standing alongside the martial artist with the surprised look on her face. Staring at her for a moment, Gohan then turned back to his training companion, "Is she a friend of yours, Videl?"

"Uh-huh," the human fighter nodded affirmatively. "I called her over today so that you two could meet up and we could hang out together."

"Oh. Cool." The demi-Saiyan then turned to Erasa and bowed to her in greeting, causing the city girl to balk, "It's nice to meet you. My name's Gohan. What's your name?"

"Oh. Uhh…" At first not knowing how to respond, the blonde shook her head quickly and straightened up, "M-My name's Erasa."

"It's nice to meet you, Erasa," Gohan responded in his typical, courteous manner. After sparing her a kind smile and seeing her blink a few times in surprise, he then turned back to his training partner with an eager look in his eye. "I'm really glad I'm going to be able to spend a couple nights over at your place again, Videl. I can't remember the last time I came by to visit. What was it one… two months?"

"One month, I think," the girl answered with a shrug.

"Yeah. That's probably it. Man…" The boy rubbed his head nervously, "The days sure go by fast."

"Well, I can't keep going over to your place every couple of weeks without having you spending some time over at mine. You and your family are always so good to me. I want to try and return the favor," the raven haired teen replied before thumbing over her shoulder towards the mansion. "And I know dad really enjoys having you over with us. He's really starting to like you guys."

"That tends to happen with a lot of people we meet. Must be our magnetic personalities," the teen suggested, before then shouldering his duffle bag into view. "Mind if I take this up to your room?"

"Yeah. No problem. We'll wait for you down here," Videl replied, seeing her friend nod in understanding and gleefully step around and up the stairs. "If you get lost, give a holler. Jenkins will show you the rest of the way." After receiving a wave of gratitude, the boy disappeared into the house, allowing the raven haired girl to return her attention to Erasa. When she did, she was a little caught off guard by the fact that the blonde was staring after Gohan with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. "Uh… Erasa? You okay?" She then snapped her fingers, getting her attention. "Oh good. You're still alive."

"W-Was that who I think it was?" Erasa asked while pointing lamely towards the back doors.

The raven haired teen sighed. Figures that would've gone completely over her head. The shock of the Saiyan's arrival must have rattled her brain to its core, especially since he literally just dropped out of the clouds. "Yep. That was Gohan," Videl answered with a cheerful smile.

At this, the blonde suddenly took her schoolmate by the shoulders and shook her with a mixture of incredulity and disbelief, "Damn it, Videl! What the hell?! Why didn't you tell me he was so good-looking? Huh?"

Feeling her brain being bounced around, the teen fighter quickly responded to her friend's question. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Videl apologized while being woman-handled by her classmate. Geez. Did she completely overlook the fact the guy had flown here and landed in her back yard? Where in the heck were all those questions? "P-Please s-stop sh-shaking me…"

Now it was Erasa's turn to apologize. "Oh. Sorry. Sorry," Letting the girl go allowed Videl to sway back and forth on the spot until her natural equilibrium returned to her. After placing her hands behind her and bowing her head repentantly, the blonde then looked up at her schoolmate with a slightly flushed look, "I'm just a little bit surprised, is all. I mean… can you blame me? After all the years I've known you, you've never shown even the slightest interest in a boy before. But now here you are, smiling like a kid and hanging out with an awesomely cute guy from the country. What? Are you two, like, an item or something?"

"What?" Recoiling at her friend's sudden question, Videl quickly swallowed and turned away. Hiding her face from view, the girl then expressed an immediate sense of irritation and disbelief, "N-No way. Gohan and I… we're just… good friends. Th-There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"Hmm." Giving her classmate a suspicious once over, the blonde stood silently for a moment before, after several moments of consideration, pulled away with a smile and an apprehensive glint in her pupil. "Okay. If you say so."

Due to the fact that Videl had pretty much turned her back on her friend, Erasa completely missed the visage of embarrassment and the flush of red that appeared on the tomboy's face. The pair remained that way for the next couple of minutes, keeping absolutely silent before the raven haired fighter was startled out of her daydream by Gohan's voice cutting into the scene.

"Wow. No matter how many times I visit this place, it always amazes me at how massive it is," the hybrid spoke while strolling down the steps, only to immediately come face-to-face with the ever energetic girl that was Videl's school friend. "Oh. Hey, Erasa."

"Hey, Gohan. So… Videl's told me quite a lot about you. How you met during the _Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament _and how you've been training her for the last few years. I can tell she's really grown attached to you," the girl said with a cheerful expression, her face hanging directly in front of his as she engaged him in pleasantries. The sixteen-year-old teenager beamed. "Has she told you anything about me, by any chance?"

The half-Saiyan smiled, "I remember she mentioned you several times while we were hanging out. She said you're an awesome friend who always has a lot of interesting things to talk about, and that you're also really funny and sweet." The young man smiled as Erasa stepped away to take in his appearance. "Looking back on all that, I can tell that everything she's told me about you so far has been right on the mark."

"Really?" When Gohan nodded, Erasa giggled, placing her hands behind her and rocking from side to side bashfully, "Well… I sure hope she hasn't said anything about my bad qualities. That would be pretty awkward."

"Actually, no. She hasn't," the teen said a-matter-of-factly, which then prompted the Saiyan to chuckle, "Why? Is there something I should be worried about?"

Erasa stuck her tongue out at him, "Nope. Nothing evil or malicious hiding underneath this smile." She then winked in Videl's direction, causing her friend to roll her eyes.

"Well that's good," Gohan said, all the while watching as the blonde maneuvered around him. "You're the first friend Videl's introduced me to from the city. I hope you and I will be able to get along."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll get along just fine, Gohan," Erasa replied, before throwing her schoolmate a discreet, evil smile that had the raven haired martial artist recoil at the sudden chill that ran down her spine.

Blinking a few times, Videl frowned, _"Why is she looking at me like that?" _It was the one thought that proceeded to run laps inside her head as she watched Gohan descend the rest of the steps and engage in further conversation with Erasa. As the pair became properly introduced, Videl decided to dispense of any suspicious thoughts she had and simply watched on as the country boy began settling into his new position.

So far, his innocent character brought up in the mountains was serving him well in this social setting. Hopefully he'd be able to make it work in the long term…

XXX

(Meanwhile)

Back in Mount Paozu, with Gohan out for the day and Chi-Chi hanging out in the living room watching television and doing some cleaning, Goten was occupying his time with something a little more his speed. Since he didn't have his brother to play with today and his other friends were nowhere to be found, he decided to spend some time with the 'Big Sister' figure in his life.

This took the form of the several-times-removed Zangya sparing with the spiky haired youngster across the rolling hills right outside their small home.

Wearing a big smile on her face, the orange haired Hera, adorned in her regular training uniform consisting of white gi pants with a purple belt, yellow boots and a black singlet top that exposed her midriff and showed off a lot of her cleavage, backed away at an even pace with her arms crossed. At the same time, her little munchkin of an opponent pressed home his offensive. Leaping long distances with a single hop, the alien woman dodged and blocked with her right leg the onslaught of attacks Goten unleashed upon her. The hits he did land on her person impacted with the earsplitting cracks of gunshots, whereas the others sailed past her uselessly.

Despite being several times stronger than the little half-Saiyan, the young alien woman still expressed amazement at how fierce and powerful the kid actually was. He was only four years old, but the kid was capable of hitting with the force of a locomotive.

"Keep it up, runt. That's it," Zangya encouraged, leaping across a flat stretch of grass and watching the boy jump after her. Ducking under a flying spin kick, the woman turned around to see the child touch down behind her and jump at her again, lashing out at her face with a blur of punches and kicks. The woman frowned when she saw his straights coming in one after the other and quickly commented on her observations, "Stop using the standard attacks, Goten. They're too predictable. Mix it up a little more." She then began dodging more frequently when the boy started getting creative.

"Yah!" the demi-Saiyan shouted, leaping at her with a right overhand and forcing her to sway under it. He then cocked his left foot back and opened up with a wicked roundhouse kick, which he threw at the woman's side. He missed big time though when Zangya effortlessly back flipped and avoided it, his own attack sending him into a downward spin.

However, instead of hitting the ground, the boy managed to land on his hand and spun at her with a kick from a handstand position, using his momentum to his advantage. His attack slammed into her shin, which she raised to block. Once his blow connected, he began uncorking more and more attacks, trying to be as imaginative as he could while not losing balance.

He pushed on, forcing Zangya to retreat at a more hurried pace. In spite of his increased intensity though, the woman continued to speak in a completely calm voice.

"Don't get caught up in a pattern. Control my central line," Zangya coached, landing on her toes and watching her opponent jump at her. She head-slipped barrages of jabs, watching his attacks carefully before suddenly being forced to block a right roundhouse kick with her arm.

A split second later, Goten came at her with a downward hook, only to see the woman duck under it, and chased her with a left flip kick. Landing on the ground, the boy spun to face her, gritting his teeth when he saw his opponent standing a safe distance away with a smile on her face.

"Good. Very good," Zangya complimented, arms folded once again.

The youngster panted exhaustedly with sweat dripping down his face, "You're way too fast, oneechan. There's no way I can beat you."

"Hey, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have, little man," the Hera replied with a jovial smile. "Remember, you're only four years old. Give yourself some time."

Nodding, the youngster turned heel and charged right after her in a blur of movement.

Watching his orange form dart towards her at a ridiculous speed, Zangya quickly responded in a typical manner. With a sudden burst of ki and a widening of her eyes, the woman fired a weak _**Kiai**_ at the child that slammed into him headlong and sent him tumbling across the field. Managing to stop amidst a cloud of dust, a slightly discombobulated Goten took several deep breaths and launched himself at the woman once again.

Swaying to the side with her arms still crossed, Zangya allowed the child to fire away at her. Rapidly moving punches followed her, along with a variety of kicks and hooks. Managing to avoid a spin kick, the Hera then retaliated with a kick of her own, only for the boy to parry her leg and spring off of it to kick at her head. She slipped it effortlessly.

"Faster. Destroy my focus," Zangya ordered, getting the youngster to attack her more viciously. The sudden flare in his pattern impressed the woman, but she nonetheless spotted several flaws in his advances. Despite being super talented Goten still had a lot to learn about fighting. "You're over-flourishing your hooks. Tighten them up." She then swayed and avoided one before head butting the surprised boy in the face and sending him to the ground. The Hera grinned when she heard the youngster groan where he lay. "Now they're too tight. Extend them."

Rubbing his forehead from the unexpected bonk, Goten sat up slowly and groaned. "Hey. That wasn't fair, big sis."

"No one said anything about fighting being fair, not even your big brother and he's one of the nicest guys in the world. Not to mention one of the strongest," Zangya responded, smirking at the spiky haired hybrid as she walked over to him. "Plus I'm older than you and way more experienced… and you're still just a novice. Just give yourself a few more months. I'm sure you'll grow into this."

Goten scrunched his face up childishly, "I can't wait to get better." He then punched the ground and looked up at the Hera sternly. "I'm going to keep getting stronger until I'm as strong as both you and big brother."

"I'm sure that with enough practice you'll get there eventually," Zangya said, stopping next to her friend's sibling and tilting her head at him. "Still, those were some nice moves you pulled. A couple more years of fine tuning and polishing up, I'm sure you'll become something amazing."

"Y-You really think so?" Goten asked, giving the orange haired woman an inquisitive stare.

"For sure," Zangya nodded, passing on her most honest answer to the child as he sat there nursing his injuries. "I know talent when I see it. Even though you're still really young, you've already become a great fighter. I guess that's all thanks to your Saiyan genetics."

Processing her words quickly, the child beamed, "You're wickedly strong too, sis. I bet even Trunks' dad wouldn't be able to beat you."

"Well…" Zangya shrugged and looked off to the side thoughtfully, "Maybe, maybe not. I haven't had the chance to fight him one on one yet, so it's really hard to tell if I could beat him or not. But believe me; out of all the people I've wound up fighting in my time as a mercenary, your big brother was by far the best opponent I've ever fought."

Rubbing the throbbing red bruise on his forehead, the slightly dirty and battered youngster in the orange and blue, long-sleeved gi gazed up at the Hera curiously. "You said you used to be a bad guy, right sis? And that Gohan fought you many years ago."

The woman nodded, "That's right."

"Well… what made you want to switch sides and become a good guy?" Goten asked, lowering his hands and continuing to stare at the female alien he now regarded as one of the closest members of his family. "Did you get bored with being a bad guy or something?"

At first surprised and not really knowing how to respond to his question, Zangya eventually put on a brave face, threw up a smile and, with grace and poise, sat herself on the grass beside the little tyke. Getting comfortable, the woman began to elaborate for him, "That's a really tough question for me to answer, Goten. Honestly, it was a really funky time for me back then. But I guess… if you really want to know, you could say it was a little bit of everything that made me change sides." She glanced at the inquisitive child and gave him her most genuine smile. "After so many years of conquering planets and fighting alongside my old crew, I realized that what I was doing, as a mercenary and a soldier, was hurting a lot of people… people who didn't deserve to get hurt. When I was stuck inside of that star for over ten thousand years, I had plenty of time to think about everything that I'd done with Bojack's group, and that everything we were planning to do and were going to do… was wrong. Then, when I eventually came up against your brother… well…" The woman chuckled and looked ahead of her once again. "He set me straight. He gave me a way out and showed me a new path that I could take… something better that didn't involve destroying everything and hurting others."

Blinking a couple of times, Goten then scrunched his face up curiously, "Did he spank you and say you were being naughty?"

The idea of the present Gohan spanking her had Zangya swallow her tongue. Eyes widening a bit as her face inadvertently heated up at the notion of the dashing young male 'punishing' her, the woman quickly dispersed all thoughts of the concept and smirked back at the cheeky little rascal. "In a way." She then brought a hand up and ruffled his head. "Your big brother beat me up and gave me a second chance. That's how I ended up here and believe me little man… I have no intention of ever going back."

"Oh," Goten murmured, a smile reappearing on his face. "Okay." Shuffling over to the woman, the child then laid his head on her lap and, securing a good spot, closed his eyes and sighed gently. "I'm really glad you're here with me, oneechan. You're… a very good person." Then, without another word, the boy drifted off to sleep right there in the middle of the field.

At first caught a little bit by surprise by the boy's innocent remarks, his words inevitably brought a warm, loving smile to Zangya's lips and caused her eyes to shimmer with elation. Feeling herself tear up, the woman wiped the build waterworks away and sighed, resting a hand on the child's head and stroking his hair soothingly.

"Good spar, runt."

XXX

(Three weeks later)

Somewhere in Satan City's residential district, far out of the way of any large office buildings, factories or complexes, a familiar young demi-Saiyan could be seen hard at work.

Dashing about from level to level at super speed, dressed in a white shirt, workman pants and boots, the spiky haired form of Son Gohan was currently making cracking progress on his latest assignment. Having already assembled the frame of the two story building and already beginning construction on the walls of the small complex, you could see how in tune the young adult was with his project. With agility and determination mirroring that of the Energizer bunny, the demi-Saiyan darted about the property carrying out his numerous tasks in rapid succession.

One second he was flying up to the top level bringing tools with him to continue work on the floor plan and the next second he was running about carrying enormous pallets of bricks and mortar. Not only that, but he also had a couple of copies of himself helping him out in other areas of the job that needed filling, including assemblage and management.

Standing off to the side and watching his other three clones move around with Barry Allen-like swiftness, another copy of Gohan was presently looking through a total station, surveying the construction process from a distance and making sure all of the elements were falling into place. What with how fast he was actually building the house, he needed someone of equal speed, knowledge and skill to watch over everything.

Humming to himself as he checked the building against the blueprints on the table next to him, the Gohan clone smiled and gave his copies an okay sign. "Nice work guys. Keep it up. We're making great progress." Receiving a wave from the copy transporting stuff around the site, the demi-Saiyan then allowed them to return to their tasks while he returned to his checklists and documents.

He was currently running his own clock. Though the bosses at the company had given him plenty of leeway to finish building the house in the next month, he was confident he would be able to do it in a week… maybe even less. His competitive, Saiyan-side practically demanded it.

That of course all depended on whether he wanted to stay for a couple extra shifts.

Over the next hour, Gohan and his copies moved about the site like clockwork. Keeping track of the building as it assembled piece by piece like watching a lego house being constructed in fast forward further illustrated just how quickly the half-Saiyan and his crew of three were working. Since the super powered teenager had everything he needed for that day right there in his front yard, putting it all together was as easy as baking a cake.

The house that the spiky haired architect was going for was a two-story, modern day contemporary style house with a wrapping façade, complete with steel panel siding, trespa woodwork on the exterior with ebony black beldon masonry, and square glass paneling. Gohan was also certain to make the garage door flush with the exterior of the house, with easy access to the front entrance from the driveway. It was a very trendy design that the higher ups really took a liking too and asked if he could personally get this done for them. This being a hobby for the demi-Saiyan as well as his job, there was no way he could turn them down on a request like that.

As the youngster was continuing work on the exterior at high speed, the clone on the ground running about and checking the framework suddenly became aware of another presence in the area and turned his attention towards the road. When he did, he saw a short, portly man in a suit and a hardhat standing there with a clipboard under his arm.

Quickly recognizing him as one of his managers and coworkers, Gohan smiled and quickly jogged over to him. "Hey, Sanada-san. What's going on?"

"Hello, Gohan. Just dropping down from the office to check on your progress. Nothing big," the man replied pleasantly, tipping his hat up so that he could inspect the structure properly. A murmuring sound of approval escaped his lips shortly afterwards once he inspected the building from top to bottom, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Yeah? You think so?" Gohan asked, stopping alongside the manager and gesturing towards the half-finished home. "I wanted to go for a more rustic feel on the outside, but a lot of buyers nowadays are looking for a more modern day home with a crisp, rich feel to it. So I stuck with a Taylor & Smyth approach and went for the full package; flat roof, square paneling and cool woodwork that doesn't compromise the overall design." Placing his hands on his hips, the youngster turned to grin at his compatriot in the industry, "What do you think?"

Sanada chuckled at the teen's enthusiasm as he began walking across the yet-to-be-tended-to front yard to continue his inspection from another angle. Along the way he swung out his clipboard and began jotting down some additional notes, "You definitely know what you're doing, I will say that." He then used a pen to point up at the other copies Gohan had scattered across the property. "I see you've got your trusty crew of _**you**_ running around again doing all the heavy lifting."

The man had obviously become used to seeing the super-powered martial artist utilizing the cloning technique to help him out with the construction, which was why he wasn't gawking at how there were four Gohans in the area as opposed to one.

His remark had the teen laugh a little, "As long as they get the job done. Even though I don't use this ability often, it's still one of the most useful skills in my repertoire."

Nodding his head as he moved around the structure, analyzing the framework and checking out the outer walls, Sanada then stopped a couple minutes later and turned back to the enthusiastic worker. "Everything's looking good on the outside. I can see you're keeping to the timetable we'd set for you, but it seems like you've got your own timetable running, yeah?" Slipping his clipboard under his arm, he then pointed towards the building. "I wouldn't mind checking out the interior to see how you're going on the pipes and wiring, if you don't mind. Since you're already about halfway done on the outside…"

"Sure. I'll show you around," Gohan said, beaming vibrantly as he then led the man towards the building and up the stairs. "Just watch your step. I haven't finished work on the top level yet and some of the floor panels are missing."

"Fair enough. Proceed."

And so the inspection continued, with Gohan giving his most regular visitor from the company the full tour of his structure to show him just how much he'd already gotten done. It was a pretty standard walk all the way through. The demi-Saiyan briefed him of what each of the rooms was going to be and how he was going to fit in some of the other hardware and furniture once the interior construction was complete. He also gave him a rundown on all the electrics and plumbing that was already in place.

After about half an hour of surveying the building, followed by a short coffee and lunch break, once he was done showing Sanada the entire bottom floor and all of the second floor of the one-man-marvel, the inspector expressed his thanks and appreciation for the boy's hard work and headed on his way.

This was the only speed bump Gohan had to navigate over the course of the entire day and once his colleague had left the property, he could once again pick up the pace knowing the area was all clear.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

(Mount Paozu)

While Gohan was hard at work in the city, Chi-Chi was at home living it up in her own way. This particular occasion took the form of a little get-together she'd organized with the other women of their group. Not only was Zangya hanging out at home with her, but Bulma and Android 18 had also popped in for a visit, all of whom were sitting around the outdoor table and enjoying a nice cup of tea. Since it was such a great day outside with not a single cloud in the sky, all of them were dressed for the occasion and engaged in enjoyable conversation. At the same time, all of the mothers around the eating area were sparing glances towards the hillsides surrounding the home, where they could see Goten and Trunks play fighting across the grass.

They were also paying special attention to another new member of their group, who was at that moment sleeping peacefully in the blonde woman's arms.

"She's adorable, Eighteen," Bulma exclaimed, smiling down at the baby girl currently resting in the android's hold.

The woman smiled warmly at the scientist's compliment and nodded in agreement, "She is, isn't she?" Adjusting the child's position, Eighteen brought a finger up and gently brushed some of the towel the baby was wrapped in out of the way so that she would see her beautiful face. "She has her father's eyes."

"And her mother's breathtaking looks, am I right?" Zangya asked in an almost teasing fashion as she sat beside her friend with a large mug in hand.

Expressing a giggle that would be considered subtle by most, the blonde haired fighter gave the Hera a small smile. "I certainly hope so."

Chi-Chi tilted her head as she watched the new mother cradle her daughter, while at the same time picking up a biscuit and taking a bite out of it. "Are you and Krillin doing alright raising her over at _Kame House_? You're not having any… _problems_ or issues taking care of her out there?"

"She's only asking you this since you're living with a couple people whose only prevailing thoughts in life are to use the dragon balls for panty wishes," Bulma added, knowing full well the kind of individuals that were currently held up in that tiny pink house.

Even though she respected both Master Roshi and Oolong as lifelong comrades of their group, she still had concerns over the young couple's ability to survive accompanied by those two. When inside tight situations that involved the likes of Doctor Wheelo and the maniacal Broly, they could trust Master Roshi and his crew with their lives. However, outside of the ring during peacetime, there was still much to be desired about their personalities…

"Don't worry about the old man and the pig," Android 18 replied with a continuous smile drawn across her lips. "I can manage those two with both hands tied behind my back. As long as I burn all their dirty magazines, cover up the holes in the walls, and administer some cold hard discipline whenever it is necessary, I'm sure I'll be able to whip those two idiots into shape by the time Marron is old enough to walk around."

"Wow. That's a good plan," Bulma remarked in slight amazement, before smiling as she watched the cyborg fighter tend to her daughter. "I have to warn you though; those two can be quite persistent."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Chi-Chi said, nudging her blue-haired friend in the arm and gesturing towards the blonde. "She's one of the strongest people on this planet. Out of all of us, she's more than equipped to lay down the law in that house, especially with the more powerful members of our group." Her son and Vegeta included, but only in social situations.

Though the android was no slouch when it came to combat, the Saiyans of their team had made so many leaps and bounds in the last couple of years it's almost close to impossible to completely handle them.

The others though…

Yeah, Android 18 could deal with them no sweat.

"You're going to make an awesome mum when she's all grown up," Zangya remarked, grinning at the blonde angel when she looked her way. "Not that you're not a great mum already. I'm just saying you're going to become an even more awesome parent as time goes on, if I've phrased that correctly."

The blonde nodded towards the orange haired alien, "Thanks, Zangya."

"No problem," the Hera replied, taking up her mug and gingerly sipping from it.

While collecting a biscuit from the center plate and weighing it between her fingers, Bulma glanced over at their android neighbor from across the pond and mounted a secondary inquiry. "How's Krillin doing as a father? Is he coping… or is he freaking out and bouncing off of walls every morning, noon and night?"

"He's doing quite well, actually," Android 18 answered, feeling uplifted as she picked up the glass of water next to her and held it up. "Though he doesn't look it on the surface, that man really knows what he's doing. We take shifts in looking after her whenever she wakes up at night, he taught me how to change her diaper, he's a great cook and knows what kind of nutrition Marron needs…" The blonde then looked up at the other women to see them listening to her intently. "Honestly, I had no idea how to look after our daughter when she was born, but Krillin taught me everything I needed to know."

Bulma, feeling a little teary-eyed at that admission, smiled at her fellow parent, "That's so sweet."

"Well… Krillin was always a really amazing person," Chi-Chi added, expressing her opinion with a slight laugh as she picked up her cup and stirred the contents with a spoon, "Even though he's not as strong as the other boys, he more than makes up for that with his personality and charm."

Zangya, grinning devilishly, threw her friend a cheeky glance, "I'm sure Eighteen has become more than familiar with that particular side of him. Am I right?" The Hera's curious inquisition had the android look away with red in her cheeks, indicating the orange haired fighter was right on the mark regarding that point. "Where is the hubby right now, anyway?"

"He's at work," the android informed, taking a sip from her water and setting it aside, "Krillin's overseeing the construction of a community piece in a city on the south-eastern peninsula. After all these years of working for the company, the higher ups are finally getting him off of the grunt work and into a managerial position."

Bulma smiled, "That's great. It means he'll be able to make more money for you guys."

"That's what he told me a few days ago," Android 18 said, cradling her daughter gently when the baby began to stir from her nap.

Turning to the other women around the table, Chi-Chi decided to offer another two cents on the matter. "Things have been going well for Krillin these past couple years. I'm really happy for him."

"And what about you, Chi-Chi?" Bulma asked, glancing across at the raven haired mother to see her take a swig from her teacup and set it back down on the plate in front of her. "Gohan's told me he's been taking you and Goten up to Otherworld to visit Goku every couple of days to catch up with him."

The Son mother nodded to the scientist in response, "It's been going great so far. The man hasn't changed one bit since the day he passed away and even though he's dead his appetite is as healthy and active as ever. He's pretty much the same kind, selfless, thick-headed numbskull I fell in love with all those years ago."

This put a grin on the blue haired woman's face while she rested her head on her hand, "You're not disappointed at all that he's still hanging out with a bunch of dead people from the past?"

"I'll admit it was hard to wrap my head around at first. I even gave him a smack over the head the first time we were alone together for deciding to stay up there in Otherworld," Chi-Chi informed, rolling her teacup between her fingers for a moment with a troubled expression in play. That however faded moments later when she replaced it with a smile. "But after we sat down and talked it over, I soon came to understand why he made that choice and why he decided to step out for a little while."

"To protect you guys, right?" Bulma asked, receiving a nod in response. Tilting her head, the scientist turned back to stare ahead of her once again, "You have to admit, a lot of the enemies we've encountered over the last decade have been a direct result of Goku's meddling or his being here on this planet. It's like he'd transformed himself into a massive, glowing beacon that attracts bad guys."

Zangya chuckled at that little joke, "So I've heard." Gohan had spent a great deal of time chatting to her about his father. As far as she was concerned, the man was pretty much a walking jinx for their group.

"I mean, think about it," Bulma then began counting on her fingers. "Piccolo showed up at the world tournament and nearly ended up destroying everything as payback for his father's death. Radditz came to the planet to pick up Goku and to finish the job he was originally sent here to do as a child. This then led Vegeta and his old partner coming to the planet a year later." She raised another finger. "Cooler visited the earth to take revenge on Goku for killing his brother. Frieza also came back after the thorough butt-kicking your husband gave to him on Namek. After that, the androids showed up because of what Goku did to the Red Ribbon army when he was a kid."

This then led to Zangya taking on a sheepish look and raising a hand, "And my old boss came here wanting to pay Goku back for setting us free by destroying everything." Her words had Android 18 look across at her sympathetically, which then earned a pat to the shoulder from the abashed Hera.

"And don't even get me started on that Broly guy everyone ended up fighting on that planet," Bulma said, waving a hand in front of her dismissively. "Let's face it. In the long run, I think Goku made the right choice."

Chi-Chi sighed and nodded her head, unable to argue with the woman's logic considering a lot of it was all linked to her beloved Saiyan husband. Staring into her now half-empty cup of tea, the woman was startled out of her contemplation by a nudge from behind and turned around to see Icarus standing behind her. At first surprised at the sight of her son's animal friend, the raven haired woman smiled and stroked the pink dragon on the snout, before then shooing him away to go join Goten and Trunks out on the field. Upon seeing the reptile off, she turned back to the other women next to her.

"But things are going great between me and Goku," Chi-Chi concluded, smiling fondly and placing a hand against her cheek as she put on a dream-like expression. "Even though he's dead, he still knows how to show his wife a good time…"

It didn't take long for Bulma, Android 18 and Zangya to figure out what the Son mother was implying, which led to the latter blushing uncomfortably, the blonde instinctively covering her sleeping daughter's ears, and the scientist grinning mischievously.

XXX

(A week later)

(Capsule Corp.)

Typing away at her computer, a highly energized Bulma allowed a big smile to cross her face as she watched the specs on her design line up and the solution to her formula on the monitor finally come through. Pumping her fist triumphantly, she then quickly began applying the new information she was able to come up with to the rest of the three-dimensional model on her screen and completed its final phase.

There was no possible way she would've been able to complete such an immensely complicated process without the right equations. All of this stuff fed right into the rail gun's firing software.

"Okay. Now we're making some progress," Bulma exclaimed, quickly closing the file and moving it over to one of her other monitors, all the while making sure the rest of the folders followed it. Once she was positive she'd gotten everything down, the woman then had the download process begin and allowed the computer to do its thing. With the hum of its engines and processors booming throughout the laboratory, the blue haired scientist then turned about in her chair and watched the data filter into the massive tower on the other end of the room.

This large pillar of steel and wiring was the brain behind what would become the new line of anti-meteorite weaponry that the military would be able to use to stop extra terrestrial and unidentified flying objects from entering the earth's atmosphere. It was an impressive concept for sure and a lot of trouble had gone into setting it up. Bulma had practically worked her fingers to the bone completing this little monstrosity. But it wasn't like she was doing this alone.

"Alright then. It's time to insert the final piece," the scientist began as she reached for her gear and collected up a large chip to plug into the main base. However, as soon as her fingers curled around it and lifted it from its spot, she pulled away sharply with a yelp and gripped her finger, "Ah, shit! Damn it…"

Figures. She got hasty and ended up cutting her finger on one of the nodes.

Her sudden curse and nursing of her little injury did not go unheard as a few seconds following her outburst, the echo of robotic gears suddenly echoed throughout the room. Several footsteps later, Bulma quickly found herself staring up at the tall, plastic covered form of a robot strongly resembling the late Android 16. Covered in rubber skin with visible joints and a silver version of his original armor adorned on his person, the orange haired, muscular robot smiled as he beamed down at his surprised creator.

"Hello, Bulma," the android spoke in his distinctive robotic voice.

The blue haired scientist smiled weakly while she massaged her finger, "Oh. Hey there Sixteen. What're you doing here?"

The automaton, obviously programmed with the most basic motor functions and responses, tilted his head at her inquisitively, the shutters of his blinking eyes making camera-like snaps every time they opened and closed. "I heard a sound of distress. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Oh. I just cut my finger on a memory unit I was planning to slip into the rail gun tower," Bulma replied, showing off her finger before returning to rubbing it. "Don't worry. It's okay now."

Blinking a couple more times, the large android straightened up, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Uhh… one?" Bulma replied, not really knowing where this was going. She quickly waved at him, "You don't have to do anything, Sixteen. Really. I'm fine."

Upon receiving her answer, the android suddenly turned to her desk and, after scanning it for a moment, opened up the top drawer and rummaged around inside of it. A few seconds later his hand reemerged with a band-aid and, turning back to his creator, opened up the strip of plaster. "Please hold out your finger so that I may treat your injury."

Hesitantly doing as instructed, Bulma shrugged and held out her cut appendage, allowing the robot to wrap the band-aid around it. Upon which he stepped away and smiled proudly at his work.

"Medical attention administered. I will now conduct a standard post-operational scan to check for further injuries."

Bulma perked up at that statement and threw her hands forward in alarm, "Oh, no, no. There's no need to-"

"Scan complete," Android 16 replied a split second later.

The scientist's shoulders slumped, "Come on." Even though she built the damn android, she was always astonished at how fast some of his functions were.

Compiling the information for a couple seconds, the android once again began to speak, "You have sustained no additional injuries. However, my sensors indicate that your reaction and processing levels are operating below par, and that your hormone and neural readings are fluctuating at an abnormal rate. This is resulting in irregular patterns of mood swings and outbursts." The new Android 16 smiled, "Diagnosis: you are exhausted from lack of sleep and wish to mate with your life partner."

"Uh… what?"

The robot tilted his head innocently, "Would you like me to call Vegeta for you?"

"NO! No-no! No! No! No!" Bulma said quickly while leaping to her feet and waving her hands about in panic, "That won't be necessary, Sixteen. Just… check your software for updates and run your ESET program."

Almost immediately, the android straightened up like a guard at his station, "Parameters recognized. Scanning." A few beeps later and the orange haired robot fell into sync mode, "Updating software one of five hundred and sixty four. Processing. One percent… five percent… ten percent… twelve percent…"

The blue haired scientist breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay. Good." Wow. She barely dodged a bullet on that one.

There was a time and place for everything, and right now wasn't the time for either sleep or procreation.

…

…

…

She reminded herself to go find Vegeta later tonight…

Android Sixteen's eyes blinked as he stood in place like a tin soldier, "Would you like to try out our CC Version 8 for a thirty day trial?"

"No God damn it!"

Apparently she still had a few more bugs to work out of him. At least this people-friendly version of Android 16 was far better than the last model she created.

XXX

(Some weeks later)

(Satan City)

"So you're saying that I can breathe in space for a certain amount of time?" Videl asked as she watched the demi-Saiyan beside her hand the money in his hand over to the cashier for the popcorn and drink he was purchasing for her. Once the change was given back to him, the girl in the white over-sized t-shirt with purple sleeves and figure-hugging jeans smiled when he turned back to face her. "That's so cool."

"As long as you maintain a constant field of energy around you, then your ki will be able to circulate the air inside of the bubble and constantly supply you with oxygen for you to breathe," Gohan elaborated, handing her drink and popcorn over and trading them for the slushy she was holding for him. As soon as both had their beverages in hand, the pair proceeded on out of the candy bar area and towards the cinemas. "Krillin and I tried it out not too long ago, and it works like a charm."

Videl chuckled, "Since you're part alien, I bet your genetics naturally allows you to breathe in space and you don't have to go through the trouble of using your energy to produce an atmospheric shield."

"True. But I think it's a good idea to have as many alternatives as possible. If one system fails, then you can always fall back on your second one… am I right?"

"You got a point there," Videl murmured, plucking some popcorn from the box she was holding and tossing them into her mouth. She made a thoughtful noise as she casually chewed, "Hmm… I should give it a try on my next training session. Maybe sometime this weekend."

"I'll take you up to the stratosphere to try it out," Gohan offered, beaming across at his friend as he escorted her towards the woman standing by the entrance to the corridor of theater entrances. "Though I'm sure you can stand extremely high altitudes if your trips up to Kami's Lookout are anything to go by, it'd be best if we took this in small steps. Adrenaline rushes aside; you're still a little new to this sort of stuff."

"Hey. I'm a tough girl," Videl replied, elbowing the teen in the side and giving him a roguish grin. "Believe me. I can handle anything _you_ can handle, big boy."

"Oh? Is that challenge I hear in your voice?" Gohan asked, going along with his friend's tone as she turned away slyly.

"What do you think?"

"You don't want to bump a half-Saiyan warrior, Videl, because he'll definitely bump back even harder. We're cold, calculating, ruthless alien warriors born and bred for combat of the highest degree. It's in our nature to respond accordingly to competition," the teen informed while leering at her, an expression which earned a playful scoff from the tomboy strolling alongside him.

"You're too much of a softie for something like that," the pig-tailed fighter replied, reaching up and poking the boy in the cheek.

The hybrid grinned against her finger, "Try me." They then stopped in front of the usher. The blonde employee in the red and white striped dress gave the couple a pleasant smile at their interactions, before accepting the tickets Gohan handed to her. As soon as she checked them, she promptly directed them down the hallway and towards their cinema number, which the pair gladly continued towards. "In all seriousness though, I can tell you've gotten a lot stronger compared to what you were back at the World Martial Arts Tournament."

"I've been training with you for about four years now," Videl said while smiling up at the boy. "How strong do you think I am now compared to the people you've fought with in the past?"

Gohan had to think on it for a moment as they moved towards the doorway, "It's hard to say, really. I'll need to test you the next time you come over to my place." Turning his attention to the enormous movie screen that eased into view, the teen then checked their tickets and grinned over his training partner. "But right now, I'd rather focus on finding our seats to watch the movie."

Processing his words quickly, the daughter of Hercule Satan nodded back to him in agreement, "Yeah. Alright." She too checked the tickets he was holding, "So… I'm… J-12?"

"And I'm J-13. That puts us up… _there_." The young male then pointed towards the middle row of the sprawling I-Max setup.

Videl grinned when she spotted it, "Race yah! One-two-three-GO!" She then sprang into the air and vanished in a white blur, super speeding up to their seats ten meters away in under a second.

Sure it seemed like an abuse of her powers, but if you had super speed amongst an arsenal of several other miscellaneous abilities, who wouldn't use their gifts in a situation like this?

Appearing in her chair in the blink of an eye, Videl grinned victoriously. But just as she was moving to sit, the girl looked across with a start when she spotted Gohan already sitting in his seat, with his legs kicked up in front of him and drinking casually from his slushy. The spiky haired boy in the Capsule Corp. jacket grinned at the stunned girl when she finally registered to his presence. "Close, but no dice," the demi-Saiyan exclaimed in a cheerful voice.

Responding to his teasing grin, Videl smirked and, leaning over, gave the boy several hard, playful punches to his shoulder, her actions causing the teen to laugh and fend her off in kind. "You. Big. Jerk," she said between the thumps of her fist against his arm, "How the hell can you… ah, forget it. I know it's impossible to beat you in a race, no matter how fast I move." She then plopped down in her seat and set her popcorn aside on the same armrest as her drink to her right.

"Keep trying. I'm sure you'll get there eventually."

"Yeah right, liar," Videl said, leaning back in her chair and throwing the boy a look. "On top of being half-alien and a quarter-demon; you're practically the strongest guy in the universe. How can I possibly expect to compete with that?"

"With another year or two of training, I'm positive you'll be able to go toe to toe with me in my base form, no problem," Gohan informed, smiling at his friend to see her perk up at his statement. "Krillin and Tien can fight evenly with me while I'm in my normal form. As long as you keep doing what you're doing, in about fifteen to eighteen months time, you'll be fighting in the exact same league as them. Heck, you're already much stronger than Chiaotzu. A little more weight and ki training, and you'll be just as strong as the others."

This information had the raven haired girl's eyes light up with excitement and her grin widen. "Then I'll keep doing what I'm doing and catch up to you… no matter what it takes." In her eagerness, Videl quickly pushed the arm rest between them up so that she could quickly scoot over and latch onto his shoulder. Her actions causing Gohan to turn to her in surprise, the tomboy smiled fondly at him. With red in her cheeks and a glow in her face, the girl shyly tucked some strands of hair behind her ear while she gazed at her mentor and best friend. "Thanks for everything, Gohan-kun. You're the best."

Blinking a couple of times, Gohan smiled right back at her, "You're welcome, Videl."

Practically shining by this point, the tomboy fighter then adjusted her position and, while still leaning against her friend, turned towards the massive screen at the front of the theatre. Since there were still a few minutes to go before the movie started, the pair had plenty of time to engage in some good-natured pleasantries.

"You know… I'm thinking of joining the police force here in the city."

"Really?" Gohan glanced across at the girl with a blink. "You want to get a job in law enforcement?"

"Yeah. But not as a full-timer. I want to be able to do this part-time while I finish my studies at school and university," the teen stated with an eager grin in play. "I'm a good friend with the police chief's daughter, so I'm sure I'll be able to arrange a meeting with him and talk to him about getting a position on their special crime fighting unit. After I show them what I can do, I'm positive I'll be able to land a position easily. I just need to go through a couple of checks and seminars first to learn about proper police engagement and procedures." Videl then looked up at the half-Saiyan excitedly. "You should join me, Gohan."

The demi-Saiyan blinked a couple of times, "A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah. With your skills and your strength, I'm sure you'll make an awesome crime fighter," Videl said, before then nudging him in the arm a few times, "Or maybe even a super hero. Yeah. The two of us fighting crime side-by-side as the defenders of Satan City!" She then spoke in n exaggerated, heroic sounding voice, "The Z-fighters: protecting the weak and battling villains for the greater good!"

Gohan laughed at his friend's zeal, "Heh. That sounds awesome!"

"Right?" the tomboy exclaimed, gripping the boy's arm tightly and giving him her most honest look. "This isn't about getting fame or glory or anything like that, Gohan. I want to do this so that I can protect the people of my hometown. By joining the police force, I'll be able to go out and help them whenever they need me. Not to mention I'll be allowed to do it and not have to worry about the law coming after me in case I do anything outside of my jurisdiction. Even though we can protect the planet from aliens and robots threatening to destroy it, when it comes to fighting bad guys in the community… it's a little more complicated than that. You can get into a lot of trouble tackling crime as a vigilante without the proper clearance or consent."

"I suppose you're right about that," Gohan murmured, sensing the honesty and seriousness in the girl's voice as he considered her words. After taking some time to dawn on his companion's statements, he then nodded his head affirmatively and, finally making up his mind, turned back to her with a brilliant smile. "Okay then… let's do it." His answer had his best friend's face light up.

Heart hammering away at her chest, Videl leaned in and rested her head against the Saiyan's shoulder, clearly relaxing after her sudden burst of exhilaration. Though Gohan couldn't see it, the pigtailed fighter was ecstatic that her best friend from the country wanted to be with her on this, as they shared the same sense of justice and a need to defend those who were closest to them.

Videl reminded herself to ring up her friend tonight so that they could get started on the process.

Once she was done expressing her gratitude to the young Z-fighter, Videl focused her attention back on the big screen and smirked. "So I heard this movie is supposed to be pretty awesome… much better than the last one they made a couple years ago. At least… that's what Erasa told me." She changed subjects almost instantly, a move that put a grin on Gohan's face.

"Oh yeah? Isn't this supposed to be that Superman remake… the 'Man of Steel movie' or something?"

"Yep. These types of films have been getting pretty popular nowadays… probably due to the footage the news crews have been able to capture of you and your friends over the years. They're making a killing at the box office from all the ideas they're coming up with," Videl explained, bringing the popcorn around and setting it between them. She then gestured for the half-Saiyan to have some, which he did and began tossing individual pops into his mouth one at a time. "Though this franchise is taking a while to get off the ground compared to their rivals, I still think it's a really awesome series."

"I wonder how strong they'll make this version of the superhero in tights," Gohan wondered aloud as he stared at the blank screen with the girl alongside him.

"Not sure. But hopefully he's not going to be one of those overpowered versions where his strength defies all logic and realism," Videl went on, rolling her eyes at the same time. "Stuff like that can really take you out of a movie."

"Well… if he's going to be anything like me, I'll let you know," the demi-Saiyan said with a smile.

"Go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

Several minutes of chat later and the movie began. Kicking back in their seats and using the other's shoulder as support, the two of them got comfortable and watched as the industry's latest master piece came to life right before their very eyes. At first the whole thing chugged along at a labored pace, giving the pair the origin story of this alien warrior who would become the greatest hero earth had ever seen and showed them all his struggles growing up alongside humans. They also introduced the villains of the story; members of the hero's race coming down to the planet searching for him and the secret that he unknowingly had in his possession. It was an intriguing concept of course…

But about an hour and a half into it, when it finally got to the actual fighting between the main characters and the movie's primary antagonists, Gohan couldn't help but stop as he watched one of the bad guys, with great effort, pick up a train and pitch it at the hero like it were a basketball.

The demi-Saiyan chuckled, "I can do that."

"Of course you can," Videl whispered in response, tossing some more popcorn into her mouth.

XXX

(A month later)

The days became incredibly quiet in the weeks following Gohan's little outing with Videl. After seeing how much things have toned down over the year and with no signs of any enemies over the horizon, the Z-fighters soon decided to mix things up a little with yet another get-together. This venture was inevitably spearheaded by Yamcha, who invited all of his friends and allies over to his baseball team's home stadium for some lunch and relaxation. Though there were some difficulties experienced in organizing an actual day for the event, the man was soon successful in finding a date that was convenient for all of them. And so, once everyone had given him the green light, the entire group, Piccolo and Vegeta included, came to West City to see what the human fighter had in store for all of them.

As it turns out, Yamcha had organized a little game for his group to play. While all of the non-fighters were given seats up in the stands, complete with barbeque and beverages, all of the fighting members of the group assembled down on the pitch for what Yamcha called 'Super Human Baseball'.

Initially there were some complaints and concerns shared amongst them. Vegeta grudgingly stated his unwillingness to participate in such a 'low-brow human activity', whereas Piccolo was just not interested, period. However, with some careful convincing from both Yamcha and Gohan, the latter of whom announced his eagerness to participate, they were able to persuade the others into going along with them, including the most serious members of their troop. So, with bats and gloves in hand, the warriors hit the field for what would become a really interesting couple rounds of baseball.

While it was undeniably funny to see Gohan and Goten dressed in Yamcha's team colors, the _**Taitans**_, and wearing the club's hats and gloves, it was even more hilarious to see Zangya adorned in the exact same uniform.

"Surely you're just wearing that ironically?" Piccolo asked the orange haired girl standing in the right field with glove in hand, and adorned in the team's shirt, pants, hat, and chewing gum.

Blowing out a bubble from the strip in her mouth and letting it pop, the Hera grinned teasingly back at the Namekian. "Hey, if I'm going to be playing baseball in an actual stadium with you shmucks, I may as well play it right." Hell, she even got the mannerisms down pat.

The green warrior, still carrying his weighted clothing, cape and everything, grunted as he glared across at the center plate. "Whatever."

Looking at the field, this was how it currently stood.

Due to the lack of significantly strong players amongst the current group of Z-fighters, the faction had to be divided into two. While Yamcha, Piccolo, Zangya, Yajirobi, Tien, Krillin and Goten made up one team, Gohan, Vegeta, Chiaotzu, Videl, Trunks, and Bulma's 'new and improved' Android 16C made up the members of the other team.

While all of these guys were currently scattered across the field, limbering up and holding the positions they'd been assigned, this left Chi-Chi, Bulma, Launch, Android 18# and her daughter Marron, Puar, Oolong, Master Roshi and the Ox King up in the front row of the bleachers looking out over the green. Accompanying them, dressed in casual clothing and an apron that said 'World's Greatest Champ' right on the front, was Hercule Satan, who was currently tending to the barbeque they had setup alongside the first class seats.

Putting some more meat onto the serving tray once he noticed that they were cooked, the man in the afro grinned proudly and turned his attention towards the group, "Okay! Who wants some steak sausages and beef cutlets fresh off the grate? Anyone?"

"I'll take one of everything," Oolong said while raising his paper plate to the martial artist, "And some coleslaw!"

"Me too," Bulma also spoke up with a smile. Almost instantly the big man with the mustache and stubble moved over the seats and dealt out bread, meat and salads to all those who wanted it. He even had on him some tomato sauce, which he kept secured in his apron pocket, and drew upon at the hungry audience's request. "Mm. Smells good. Thanks."

"My pleasure," the man replied with an honest, good-natured smile, before turning towards the field to watch the progress of the game. Upon scanning the grass for a good couple of moments, inspecting the players and seeing who was up against whom, Hercule's eyes then fell upon his daughter sitting in the dugout and alongside her best friend Gohan. Raising his tongs, the man gave an almighty roar, "GIVE THEM HELL, SWEET PEA!"

Yajirobi, who was currently held up on third base, groaned when he smelt the delicious scent of cutlets, steak, sausages and chicken drifting down onto the pitch. Despite being assigned such an important position, the only thing he could think of was one thing. _"Man, am I hungry. I can't wait to get off this field and have some of that delicious meat."_ His growling stomach could surely attest to that.

"Okay! Okay! Let's do this!" a grinning Yamcha standing on the pitcher's mound called out while nodding towards the opposing team. "Batter up, people!"

Dressed in a pair of red shorts, a green jersey and a wooden bat propped against his shoulder, little Trunks stepped out onto the field under the cheers and applause of the women and his best friend Goten. Appearing with his usual look on confidence for a child his age, the five-year-old turned to face the pitcher from the right-handed batter's box and watched as his adult adversary grinned.

Krillin, who was in the catcher's position and wearing the trademark face mask and padding, smiled across at the youngster. "Good luck, Trunks."

"Thanks, Krillin," the lavender haired demi-Saiyan whispered back.

The scar-faced pitcher smiled, "Are you ready, little man?"

Feigning a spit like he saw on television, the child then brought his bat out and took a stance. "Whenever you are, super star."

Grinning, Yamcha then dug his feet into the mound and rolled the ball between his fingers. "Alright. Here it comes." Warning given, the former mercenary straightened up, primed himself, and then, after checking the field to the left of him, cocked his hand back and let it rip.

The ball shot from his grip like a bullet and curled through the air, stunning a few people at how fast it moved. Trunks however, seeing it coming at him in bullet time, swung at it in a blur of movement. With a loud clap, he sent the ball flying across center field, drawing an exclamation of surprise from the audience before he sprinted over to first at super speed.

It was a good thing he did because the second his ball was airborne Tien leapt into the air and caught it. As soon as the ball thumped into his glove, he took it up in his free hand and tossed it towards first base. "Goten! Heads up!"

The tri-clops's warning was well received as the little half-Saiyan quickly caught the ball and stepped forward to intercept his friend. However, the second he reached to tap, Trunks dove for the ground and skidded to a clean landing.

"Safe," the robotic voice of an observing Android 16 spoke up, who also had on a uniform and a baseball hat worn atop his head.

The announcement had Vegeta smirk and Bulma cheer at her son's success. Even though the entire exchange went by in less than a second, those with sharp enough senses and a keen eye had been able to observe the entire thing. The only one who lost track of the whole exchange was Hercule, who was currently gawking at how fast that little segment went.

Seriously. If you blinked you would've missed it, and the man did blink.

"Dang it," Goten mumbled, tossing the ball across to Yamcha while his lavender haired friend grinned at him from the plate.

"Better luck next time, Goten."

"Nice one, Trunks. Well done," the scar-faced man congratulated, before then turning to see who the second batter would be.

As everyone moved into position, Tien landed back onto his side of the field after his spectacular thirty feet jump and quickly turned towards second base. "Hey, Piccolo. That one should have been yours, man. It was right on top of you."

The Namekian, staring across at the bald fighter, grunted indignantly, "Yeah. I'll get it next time." He then turned to stare at home base.

When everyone looked to see who was next, they saw Chiaotzu slink into view. As if holding a comically large bat, the little mime-fighter nervously worked his way over to the right-handed position and took up a comfortable stance beside the plate.

Upon seeing the nervousness etched across his innocent face, the members of the Z-gang quickly began passing the little fighter their encouragement.

"Don't be scared, Chiaotzu!" Tien called to his friend from his spot. "Whatever it takes, just hit the ball!"

"You can do it!" the kind voice of Launch echoed in from the stadium seats.

Swallowing nervously under their words and praise, the little martial artist nodded, "O-Okay."

Giving his comrade of many years an intense smile, Yamcha quickly readied himself for a throw. Everyone held their breaths as they watched the man load up and, just as Trunks was slowly inching away from first base, the mercenary cocked back his arm and threw. The ball left his hand at an even greater speed than when he threw it at Trunks, obviously indicating how much trust he was putting behind each pitch.

Just like before, his execution and aim was superb. However, just as the ball was shooting towards Chiaotzu with the intent of blowing right past him and landing in Krillin's glove, the mime then did something completely unexpected.

His eyes suddenly glowing blue, the short human fighter gave a quick, psychic burst and stopped the ball dead in its tracks. When it froze in the air just a couple feet from him Chiaotzu quickly took aim, swung his bat, and smacked it straight into the sky. The white sphere went soaring, giving Trunks the cue to run and for the hitter to do the same. Chiaotzu levitated off the floor and shot towards first base as fast as he could.

The superhuman maneuver caught Yamcha completely by surprise as he turned and watched the ball shoot over left field like a missile. "Damn!"

All at once, Tien leapt into the air and intercepted the projectile before it could leave the field. As soon as he caught it, the man took aim and chucked it straight down to second towards Piccolo.

The Namekian was ready.

Running into the middle of the line the tall fighter caught it and spun around to catch Trunks, only for the quick little hybrid to shoot past him and dive for second base. The green warrior cursed and spun on the spot, chucking the ball towards Goten.

With his foot on the plate, the spiky haired boy caught the fast-moving object and turned, quickly tagging Chiaotzu before he could reach his goal. "Got yah," the boy chirped.

"Out," Android 16's voice called from beside the dugout.

Blinking a few times at the lightning fast game, Chi-Chi turned towards Android 18 and the others, "Hey. Chiaotzu stopped the ball in midflight. Is he allowed to do that?"

Bulma grinned, "Well… it's called 'Super Human Baseball' for a reason."

When Chiaotzu slowly made his way back to the dugout under a congratulatory applause from the audience, he met with Gohan making his way out, who quickly gave the shorter fighter an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "That was a really good move, Chiaotzu. I'm sure you'll nail it next time."

The mime smiled in appreciation at the young Saiyan's comment, "Thanks, Gohan."

Words exchanged, the teenager readjusted his cap and jogged his way over to home plate.

As soon as everyone saw the half-Saiyan stroll towards the batter's position under the cheer and whistles of the audience, most notably Chi-Chi, Hercule and Videl, smiles of enthusiasm quickly pulled across the faces of the most competitive members of the group. While Goten beamed excitedly when he saw his brother take a few practice swings with his metal bat, the orange haired Hera over in right field gave an evil chuckle and spoke up so that her target could hear her.

"O-ho. I am _so_ going to tackle you," Zangya exclaimed loudly, before quickly turning towards an equally grinning Yamcha. "Oi! Scar-face! Make him hit one my way!"

"You got it," the mercenary replied, watching carefully as the teen dusted his hands off at the plate and got into position. Bending low, the man held the ball in his glove and fixed his most focused glare on the spiky haired half-Saiyan standing in his sights. "Okay, Gohan. This one's coming at you hard and fast. So get ready."

"Whatever you say, Yamcha," the demi-warrior replied while kicking his bat into the air and taking it into a firm, two-handed grip. Upon securing a good spot, he focused his gaze on the wolfish warrior and put on his most serious air. "Alright. Bring it."

Krillin grinned behind his mask. "They really have it out for you today, buddy. Watch yourself."

It was this gutsy exchange of words that prompted everyone in the area to quiet down and prepare for a good show. As Yamcha stretched and loaded his arm, Piccolo removed his cape and turban, Zangya spat out her gum, Tien began to gather energy, and Videl and the rest of the crew leaned forward in their seats, gripping their legs with excitement. It was obvious that no matter what was going to happen out there, all of the Z-fighters knew it was going to be one doozy of a play.

Discreetly pouring ki into the baseball so that it glowed a bright blue, Yamcha straightened up, took aim and, with a growl and a yell, he pitched the ball at light speed straight towards his target, causing a sonic boom to ring out.

In a split second, all hell broke loose.

Powering up so that his aura exploded around him like an inferno, surprising Krillin at its intensity, Gohan uncorked his bat and slugged the approaching ball as hard as he could, sending it rocketing into the sky and breaking the sound barrier several times. While most of the fighters out there were unprepared for the sheer magnitude of the hit, Goten and Tien included, two of them were.

Piccolo instantly leapt for the ball to try and catch it, but it shot right past him and up into the clouds, which it parted on contact a split second after being hit.

"Damn!" the Namekian shouted, spinning around and watching the sphere soar into the upper atmosphere, only to then see Zangya shoot past at full speed in hot pursuit of the ball.

On the ground, it looked like a home run. The second Gohan let the ball fly, he super-sped towards first base, blowing past an awe-struck Goten at the same time Trunks left second and sprinted for third. Once the lavender haired boy rushed past an equally astonished Yajirobi, the child began sprinting for home, knowing that if he slowed down for even a second something disastrous would probably happen to him.

He wasn't that far off either.

As soon as Gohan's feet landed on second he made a beeline straight towards third. Skidding past a confused Yajirobi, he then made a dash towards home. Under the cheers from the crowd, Videl especially, the boy looked like he was in the clear.

But just as Vegeta was rising to his feet to watch the glorious victory of the half-Saiyan, a green blur from the clouds above suddenly shot down towards the earth like a lightning bolt and, in the blink of an eye, tackled Gohan in the side and plowed him into the floor just a few feet away from home base. The sudden maneuver had everyone gawking in shock.

Digging a twenty foot long trench through the dirt after blindsiding her quarry, the half-Saiyan soon came to a grinding stop. When the dust eventually cleared, it revealed the poor youngster lying flat on his back with a panting Zangya straddling his waist, her foot on his chest and a victorious smile in play. As soon as she saw the boy pinned beneath her, she held up the slightly burnt baseball and tapped him on the forehead.

"Got yah, bitch."

The teen, giving the woman a playful grin in return, then let out a groan in disappointment, "Ah, man. I was so close."

"Better luck next time, slugger," Zangya replied, getting off of him and helping the kid to his feet. After pulling him out of the crater they'd formed, the Hera patted him on the shoulder and allowed him to return to the dugout.

Even though the audience was both astonished and disappointed at the result, they still applauded Gohan for a job well done. Vegeta on the other hand, who was still seated comfortably with the rest of the players of his team, grunted and looked up at the teen in displeasure when he finally returned to their station. "That was a terrible performance brat. And you call yourself a Saiyan elite."

"Hey, I was just being fair. If I actually went all out on that throw, I would have disintegrated the ball before it even left the stadium," Gohan said with his characteristic Son smile. "I mean… can you blame me for taking it easy?"

The prince huffed at his words, "A true warrior never takes it easy, not even on their comrades."

"Well… I guess that's where you and I differ from each other," the half-Saiyan replied, dusting his uniform off while trudging down the steps. "Besides; our only rule is to keep the ball intact. If it gets completely destroyed in mid-play, we'll have to start the exchange all over again. So make sure you hold back with your swings." On his way in, Gohan passed by Videl and gave her a spirited high-five in greeting. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll make sure to give them something to work for," the raven haired girl chirped while dashing over to the deck, bat in hand.

With two of them out and one of them home, there were now only three people left to step up to the plate. While Videl was a shooing to give the thrower her best shot, there was one among them that was a complete wild card in the lineup.

Having left his post by the dugout to make his way over to the batter's box, the watered-down Android 16 could be seen standing there with a bat in hand and emotionless gaze set on the pitcher. Yamcha, having become familiar with the robot over the past several days, looked a little bit nervous about throwing a hard ball towards the guy since he was supposedly a lot more fragile than the last model. Hell, he was even standing there with a bird on his shoulder.

However, this being a competitive game and the android being more than willing to participate, the scar-faced fighter figured he could throw some fast ones his way.

Hopefully Bulma wouldn't get pissed at him because he accidentally broke the robot's arms.

Making a few audible beeping noises, the orange haired Android then spoke up in a monotone sounding voice, "Synchronizing movements with the projectile's predicted flight path. Syncing…" His eyes then flickered with a few lights, drawing odd stares from all the warriors on the field, "Calibrating elemental boost information and adjusting bat setting to homing mode."

Krillin, crouching behind the towering robot that was standing as still as a statue, blinked a couple of times in confusion, "Umm… dude? Is everything okay?"

Swallowing nervously just like all the other members of the audience, Yamcha straightened up and took aim. _"Well… here goes nothing."_ Sucking it in, the man cocked his arm back and, with as little energy as possible, chucked it at the robot.

Like a piston, Android 16's arms moved back before swinging out at a surprising speed. With perfect aim and precision, the android smacked the ball and sent it soaring over center field. The clean hit and the sight of the ball flying towards the clouds had the entire audience stare.

"Wow. Not bad," Chi-Chi exclaimed.

"His timing was spot on," the Ox King also commented while chewing on a hotdog.

However, all praise and commentary on the display was cut short when Piccolo effortlessly intercepted the ball and chucked it down to Goten. When the half-Saiyan caught it and turned to catch the android to tag him out, he saw the robot still standing at the home plate in the same position he'd ended up in following his swing.

The entire arena went silent for several long seconds, upon which the robot finally dropped the bat and turned towards first base… and started walking towards it at an arduous pace.

"Beginning run to first base. Running."

At that moment, every single person in the stadium face planted the floor, with the exception of Android 18, who was still holding Marron in her arms. However, the woman still had the decency to look on with a deadpanned expression.

Despite being a terrific android utilizing the most cutting edge software and technology from Capsule Corp, the current Android 16 apparently still had a seriously long loading time. Not to mention he had tunnel vision. Sure, he could process and execute one task perfectly, but he couldn't compartmentalize information fast enough or perform multiple activities at once.

This just showed how much work still needed to go into him.

The sight of the robot continuing to march towards first base had Bulma pick herself off the floor and yell at him, "God damn it, Sixteen! Either run or sprint! Don't walk!"

"I am not fast," the robot answered, only to stop dead in its tracks moments later when it saw Goten holding the ball. A few beeps of its optical sensors later and the automaton spoke up once again, "Objective: failed. Ball has been effectively intercepted. Player: out." The android then turned on the spot and marched back towards the dugout.

Standing up as well, the four-year-old Goten grinned and threw his hands in the air victoriously, "Yay! I got someone out!"

The players once again turned over. Following Android 16's uninspiring defeat, Vegeta took to the deck while the raven haired girl who'd previously been standing there stepped up to home. With a metallic bat in hand, the girl kicked her feet into the ground and rolled her shoulders, facing down Yamcha with a twinkle in her eye and a grin on her face.

Slapping a baseball helmet onto her head, the girl stylishly spun her bat around and pointed it straight at her foe, "_**BATCHKOI!**_ Let's do this!" She then took the steel slugger into a two-handed grip and slid into a wide stance.

Whistling at the girl's gutsy attitude, Yamcha chuckled, "Okay. You asked for it." Tossing his ball up and down a couple of times, the man then set it in his glove and took his position. Straightening upright after a couple seconds of analysis, the star player then wasted no time in pulling his hand back and pitching the ball at the girl using an unconventional, underhanded throw that curved the projectile at blinding speed.

Watching the ball contort as it spun towards her, the raven haired girl gave a wicked grin and, taking a big step forward, swung out with her bat and sent the ball straight into the ground. The white sphere struck the earth in front of her with a sharp thump and buried itself ten feet deep, allowing her to drop her bat and jog to first base without any difficulty.

Yamcha, seeing the ball bury itself halfway between him and the home plate, blinked in shock, "Oh. Didn't expect that." He then rushed over to the hole and looked in, where he was shortly accompanied by Yajirobi.

"Smooth move bro," the rotund fighter with the katana spoke.

"Hey! Don't pin this one on me! I never expected her to hit it into the ground."

"Well… it happened. So what are you gonna do about it?"

"Ah, shit." Yamcha then got to his knees and started digging, a sight that had the Z-fighters standing around the field take a time out for the momentary intermission.

By the time the two men finally managed to dig the ball out, which had been shredded after being sent into the ground, Videl had already run a full lap of the field and jogged comfortably back to the dugout. The women in the audience gave a mighty cheer for her effort, at the same time Zangya pulled away from her part of the field to high-five the girl for a well-executed move. Eventually, when the guys managed to get a replacement ball for the ruined one, the game could once again move on to the final hitter of the team.

Yamcha and everybody else frowned seriously when they saw Vegeta stroll over to the batter's box. With an air of confidence and smugness only the prince himself could possess, the flame-haired man dressed in the blue singlet, sweat pants and shoes took a couple practice swings before digging his feet into position. Assured he was comfortable, the full-blooded Saiyan then focused his attention on the neophyte glaring at him from across the way and the chumps standing in the background.

"Ready to get struck out, your majesty?" Yamcha asked with a grin of his own.

"Bring it on, meat shield," the Saiyan Prince shot back, "I'll send whatever you throw at me back at you tenfold."

"_We'll see,"_ the scar-faced pitcher thought, glancing behind him at Piccolo and then across at Tien. Giving his fellow human fighter a respectful nod, the former mercenary then held the ball behind his back and began pouring energy into it. The ball radiating a hot yellow from the amount of ki being poured into it, as soon as it'd achieved critical mass, Yamcha knew he was ready. "Okay, Vegeta. Eat this!"

Warning given, the Saiyan's expression became dead serious and his grip tightened around the bat's handle like a vice. As soon as his arms tensed, his opponent took action.

With a mighty yell that could be heard all across the city, Yamcha cocked his arm back and threw the ball in a wide arc.

Vegeta expected the attack to come straight at him. Reading its path like a ki blast, the man moved to the side and turned in with a low swing.

At first it seemed like it was going to travel right into his bat's path, with Krillin bracing himself for a catch that was sure to be painful.

However, unlike all of Yamcha's previous throws, the baseball unexpectedly curved along its expected path like it was possessed and, with speed no one could have anticipated, smacked Vegeta square in the thigh like a miniature _Spirit Ball_.

Every single Z-fighter cringed when they saw the charged ball drill into the man's leg and heard its solid 'crack' on impact, eliciting a shocked cry of agony from the Saiyan warrior. A split second later, Vegeta fell to his knees and gripped his thigh, a sight that not only had Piccolo grin, but it had Zangya burst out with laughter.

"AAAAAH! YOU DICK!"

"Oh. Whoops. Sorry about that, dude," Yamcha spoke with an amused grin in play. He whistled while nonchalantly adjusting his cap. "I was aiming for Krillin."

"NO! YOU WEREN'T!" the prince screamed back, a response that caused everybody else in the stadium to start laughing. The sound of their uproarious cheers and exclamations had Vegeta's eye twitch and a tick mark form across his left and right temple. "SHUT THE HELL UP! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" This only made the group laugh even harder.

"Not funny? It's friggin hilarious," Zangya replied.

While Vegeta slowly recovered from his injury, and Piccolo, Tien and their Hera teammate dashed forward to stop the infuriated prince from killing Yamcha outright, over by the dugout Gohan and Videl were leaning against each other for support while their laughter carried on. When both eventually recovered and wiped the tears out of their eyes, the raven haired girl turned towards her partner and grinned at him.

"This is great," she said, partially breathless. "We should get together to do this more often."

"Yeah. Definitely," Gohan chuckled back, straightening up so that they could watch as the others held the irate Saiyan Prince back.

Despite a couple of hiccups here and there, this day proved to be the most fun the Z-fighters remembered ever having together.

XXX

(A few weeks later)

Shadow sparring was always a great way to focus on your techniques and fighting skills. It even served as a terrific form of meditation and breathing exercise, depending on what kind of style you practiced. For Gohan it was a little bit of everything, and though it was an enjoyable experience when training on his own, it was even more stimulating when he was training alongside his family and friends.

In almost perfect synchronization, Gohan, Videl and Goten stood side by side throwing combinations of punches and kicks, sliding through stances and positions reminiscent of those practiced by the Shaolin Monks. Shifting from stance to stance one after the other, the trio exercised proper technique and form as they moved through a repetitive combination of gestures meant to instill within them a sense of control and confidence. They could then apply these same moves to fighting, so that if they were forced to dodge they could retaliate instantly, and if they responded with a parry they could counter respectively.

Over and over again the three of them moved, their movements flowing like water down a stream. Though they were sweating a bit, it was only because they were all wearing weighted clothing set at a manageable level but could still give them a hard enough workout.

It was also worth noting that all three of them were wearing the exact same gi as one another, orange and blue, with the only difference being Goten's long-sleeved undershirt and tie-on belt as opposed to the band versions that his compatriots were wearing. Whatever the case, all three of them were moving harmoniously, and against the background of Mount Paozu with a cool breeze drifting past them, it was the most ideal setting they could've possibly asked for.

After a full morning of practice going through these same moves repeatedly, it was safe to say that the three of them were pretty much set for the next session following. So, ending their practice with a quick combination of blows, the trio of fighters then began limbering up.

Just like his older brother had shown him, Goten loosened his shoulders and shook out his arms and legs, skipping on the spot from left to right. Videl pretty much did the same thing, with Gohan moving to stretch out his legs in a manner his father was best recognized for doing before every fight. Their warm down soon ended however when the teen hybrid moved further out onto the grass and turned to the pair with a big smile on his face.

"Alright guys. To finish up our morning session, the two of you are going to come at me with everything you've got," Gohan instructed, folding his arms over his chest and watching the pair lock glares onto him. Not sensing an ounce of fear or hesitation on them when they assumed their respective fighting stances, the demi-Saiyan grinned, "We're going to work until you give up or drop, so don't hold anything back. Once we're done, we can go back inside and settle down for a nice spot of brunch. Deal?"

Goten allowed a smirk to cross his face in response, "Deal."

"I'm going to give it my all, Gohan," Videl announced with an equally enthusiastic smile.

Arms still crossed, the teen nodded to them in acknowledgement, "Come."

Without another word, Goten rushed straight at his brother and, in a blur of movement, opened up with an onslaught of attacks. Punches flew up at the older boy who, upon leaning back, began blocking his brother's attacks with his right leg. He effortlessly parried and deflected the kid's blows as they flew his way, and continued to do so until he decided to counter with a swift side kick. This attack prompted Goten to leap off of the ground and attack him from up high, throwing punches and kicks at Gohan's head. Despite his best efforts though, the older brother effortlessly slipped and ducked around all of them.

Uncrossing his arms, the spiky haired teenager retaliated with a swift combination of his own, forcing his little brother to block and avoid before dropping back down to the ground. As soon as Goten landed, he spun and threw a low roundhouse kick, which Gohan checked.

The second he did so, the demi-Saiyan perked up in surprise when he sensed a shadow appear behind him and ducked to avoid a wide hook from Videl. The Saiyan then began head slipping punches thrown by the tomboy on the spot, his form blurring between them before he blocked her fist and countered with a kick, forcing the human fighter to spring away. The young duo then rushed back at Gohan and attacked him from both sides, forcing their opponent to avoid from his left and right. He danced between the pair and parried a couple of hits with his leg, until Goten swung in with a wide hook, allowing Gohan to slip under him and cause the youngster to spin over to Videl's side.

"Don't overcompensate. Keep it tight, Goten," Gohan instructed, smiling as he then watched the pair focus all of their attention on him once again. "Try not to be too direct, Videl. Your line of attack is getting predictable. Move around some more."

The teen then faced the duo and allowed them to charge in and attack once again. They came at him head on, but the teen kept his arms at his sides and slipped around their combined assault with ease, slowly backing away as they unleashed everything upon him. Gohan avoided all of their blows like they were moving in slow motion, his smile remaining for a short while until his expression became a little more intense and he quickly matched a counter to their onslaught of blows. When Goten and Videl dove in for a simultaneous attack, he parried both of their hits and, with a swift series of kicks, struck them several times before knocking them away.

Both skidding along the grass to a stop, the young hybrid and human fighter gave a huff and charged right at their opponent once again, who stood before them with his arms crossed. The second they dashed at the teen, the entire process started all over again. For the next hour, both Videl and Goten attacked Gohan with reckless abandon while their trainer dodged, blocked and parried all of their attacks.

After another hour, all three of them were called back into the house when Chi-Chi came out to get them and found two of her hard workers lying flat on their backs, beaten, bruised and utterly spent.

XXX

(A couple weeks later)

There was nothing like a good long meditation in the morning by the waterfall to sooth one's soul. Well, this was the very thing Paprika had been in the process of getting into, until she was once again interrupted by the timely arrival of her regular visitor, Son Goten.

Astride the yellow cloud that his family referred to as Nimbus, the little half-Saiyan giggled brightly as he floated around the girl sitting in midair with her legs crossed, arms folded and her eyes tightly shut. In spite of the fact that she looked like she was currently occupied fighting an internal battle with her spirit, the spiky haired half-pint was doing everything in his power to keep her from doing that. This involved drifting around her like he was in orbit on top of his family's cloud and repeatedly asking her questions he really wanted to have answered.

Needless to say, as grating as it was, it was simply impossible to ignore the little guy.

"So your people like eating fruits for breakfast and lunch, huh? I really like fruits too," Goten exclaimed happily in response to the older girl's latest reply to his storm of questions. Completely caught up in the moment, the child began counting on his fingers, "All kinds. I like apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, pineapples, grapes, pears, raisins…" He then sat back on his cloud and looked towards the sky thoughtfully. "I really like eating prunes too… but those ones make you want to go to the bathroom." An excited look then came upon his face and he grinned at the Makyan's back. "Did your people have fruits that made you do that too?"

Breathing out a sigh, the napping demon girl shrugged her shoulders, "We had a lot of fruits possessing all sorts of magical and dietary properties. This included alcoholic dates and berries that could cure any illness you were afflicted with." She then cracked open an eye and looked across at the boy floating alongside her. "My village was known for growing and selling some of the most delicious fruits on the entire planet. But… Makyo was destroyed many years ago in a great cataclysm… and most of my entire race's culture is now lost to the ages, including their fields and trees."

"Oh. I'm… I'm sorry," Goten murmured, now looking ashamed at having asked her that question. "I didn't know."

"Don't worry. I've gotten used to it," Paprika replied, closing her eyes again and exhaling deeply.

"Being on your own?" Goten asked, his face scrunching up cutely as he considered the question carefully for himself. After a couple minutes of sitting on it, the youngster then responded with the only thing he could come up with, "I think being on your own would be very sad and very scary. If my brother, Zangya, Videl or my mum weren't around and I wanted someone to play with, I wouldn't know what to do. I'd be walking around lonely and… and upset." He squirmed a little on the spot, "I don't think I'd ever get used to being alone."

His words had Paprika visibly sit up a little, but it was a response that went completely amiss by the little half-Saiyan.

"Everyone needs somebody to make them feel better… mums… dads… brothers… family… friends," Goten then smiled as he gazed across at the Makyan's back. "Having people around you who love you and spend time with you can make you very happy. Like whenever I'm upset or hurt, I always go to my brother and he cheers me up and spends time with me. And whenever I want someone to play with, I sometimes go over to Bulma's house and play games with Trunks. Sometimes he'd come over to my place too and we play tag across the hills." The youngster grinned as memories of those times flooded back to him. "When I'm spending time with someone I know and love, I feel like I'm going to be okay. I feel safe and happy." The boy then leaned forward curiously as he moved Nimbus around to look at the girl, "Do… you have someone that makes you feel like that?"

It was then Goten got a little bit of a surprise when he floated around and saw Paprika's face. Getting a good look at her, the boy noticed the girl was staring ahead of her with tears streaming down her cheeks and her mouth slightly open, a sight that had the child recoil before floating forward in worry.

"Ms Angel… are… are you okay?"

Realizing that the youngster had come right up alongside her, Paprika shook herself out of her daze and wiped out her eyes. "Oh… y-yeah. I just… got splashed by the waterfall." She then cleared her throat and closed her eyes once again. "It's nothing."

Blinking a few times after seeing the girl wipe away the 'water' on her face, the spiky haired child pursed his lips stubbornly and tilted his head, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure," Paprika replied quickly, wanting to avoid getting too into her personal issues with this child.

He was young and innocent. The last thing she wanted to do was fill him in on the torrent of emotions she was experiencing every day.

However, what she had yet to figure out was that Goten wasn't a quitter. When he saw something he thought was out of place, he would stop at nothing until that thing was corrected. It was an attribute of tenacity that was best associated with all the members of his family. So, staying true to that virtue, the young half-Saiyan floated forward on Nimbus and hovered in front of the girl with a happy smile on his face.

"If you don't have any friends or family, Ms Angel… I can be your friend if you like."

The Makyan looked up at him in surprise, "Huh?"

"Yeah. That's a great idea," the boy said, floating around on the cloud so that he was behind her and surprised the demon by wrapping his arms around her. As soon as he was latched on, he giggled and pressed his face against the girl's fluffy hair. "Since you're living here in Mount Paozu, I can come visit you every day and we can hang out whenever you want. If you're feeling upset you can come tell me about it… and if you want someone to talk to, you can come talk to me. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

At first baffled by what the boy was saying, Paprika tried to unlock the boy's grip from around her neck. However, her efforts proving futile, she simply settled for staring at him. "Uh… well…" She was about to protest. But as soon as her eyes landed on the boy's face and she saw the child smiling at her from up close, the white haired girl felt her words get swallowed up and her breathing grow still. Upon which she relented to the overwhelming cuteness of his visage and the wall preventing her from saying anything slowly crumbled. "I… I guess so."

"Yay!" Goten exclaimed, pulling away from the girl to float next to her, grinning from ear to ear, "I know we're going to have so much fun. We can look for bugs together, chase dinosaurs, catch fish… we can even play chasey when my brother teaches me how to fly tomorrow." Another idea then came to the child's head and he hovered in closer to the Makyan once again. "Hey! You can even come around and play with me and Gohan sometime! It'll be great!"

Recoiling a little, Paprika looked away with a slight smirk on her face, "We'll see. Your brother and I aren't exactly what you would call… the best of pals…"

"Oh? You've… already met my brother?" Goten asked, tilting his head at the demon girl for a moment.

The Makyan chuckled, "In a way."

Shrugging it off seconds later when the green-skinned girl failed to elaborate any further, Goten then went on about wanting to organize a play date with her and Trunks. He talked about how he wanted to show her his place and all of the awesome hot spots there were for animals around the mountain. Considering how long he'd known this girl, he was determined to hang out with her as much as possible when he wasn't at home, so that she didn't feel alone anymore. His heart spoke for him in this matter and, unbeknownst to him, it struck a little chord inside of Paprika that resonated with her deeply.

Not allowing it to show on her face, the Makyan simply floated there and allowed Goten to ramble on and fill her world with noises of comfort and joy…

Both of which she thought she'd long cut out of her life.

XXX

(Two months later)

In the enormous, dome-shaped structure that was Capsule Corp's main building, in a private wing reserved entirely for the Brief family's use, Goten and Trunks could be seen sitting in a quiet observation area behind a pane of specially made, reinforced glass.

The reason for their being in that vicinity was simple.

The viewing window in front of them was the only thing standing between them and the circular white chamber that was the company's primary _Gravity Room_, which was currently reading four hundred and fifty times on the control panel. Because of the ridiculously high setting the training center had been switched to, the kids had been forced to sit out for the time being so that they could watch as their two primary role models battled it out beyond the thick panel of shock-proof material.

Moving about in the form of two indiscernible blurs, the flame-haired form of Vegeta and the now taller Son Gohan could be seen darting about the tight bubble at ludicrous speeds. While not being able to move as fast as they normally did due to the harsh conditions they were being put under, the pair were still putting on one hell of a show for their audience as they danced through the airspace and engaged one another in one of their most intense sparring routines yet.

Having agreed to keep their fighting states at base form, both Prince and hybrid crisscrossed through the air like bullets, attacking one another with reckless abandon before deciding to gain some much needed space.

Reappearing out of super speed in a blur of motion, the shirtless Vegeta, sporting only a pair of tight blue spandex shorts, training shoes and a series of old battle scars, shimmered into view several meters above the ground in a kicking motion.

"Damn it!" Missing the flash of his foe darting past him, the Saiyan Prince felt his body begin to drop under the gravity before he shot off at an untraceable speed once again.

The ground shook when another figure phased into view on the other side of the chamber. Performing a series of acrobatic back flips, Gohan, also dressed in a pair of tight blue shorts and training shoes, sprang from hand to foot across the floor before landing in a crouched position and, with a pained shout, vanished in a flicker. He took off just in time to avoid Vegeta appearing directly in front of him with a wild hook, the Saiyan cursing before giving chase to his opponent.

Air filling with the sounds of shouting and wind breaking, the two warriors eventually remerged from their light speed travel spinning down from the ceiling. When they plummeted to midlevel in front of one another, Gohan used that opportunity to throw a wicked right straight. A battle cry echoed out when his attack shot towards the prince, only to miss his target when the flame-haired Saiyan dodged it by an inch. The instant their sweat clouded the air from their respective actions, they disappeared once again.

As their sparring match raged on, a five year old Trunks, adorned in a green gi with orange belt and wrist bands, gave an exclamation of surprise when he saw his father receive an elbow to the face before retaliating with a kick to his opponent's side. The impacts were marked by two deafening shockwaves, "Whoa. Look at them go."

"Yeah. Man, that's so awesome," Goten remarked in amazement, watching with wide eyes as his brother vanished in a blur and came at his opponent from behind with a knee, slamming it into Vegeta's face and sending him spinning to the floor. After bouncing off of it, the man sprang up and leapt back into super speed travel. "I wish I could do that."

Frowning miserably, Trunks curled up a little in his seat and glared enviously through the window, "All of the adults in our group are so strong. How long will it take before you or I can fight like that?"

"I don't know," Goten replied with a puzzled expression, only to quickly switch back to a cheerful visage moments later. "But I bet with enough training I'll become just as strong as any one of them. That's what Gohan told me when he sparred with me the other day."

"My dad said the exact same thing to me when I was sparring with him," Trunks responded with a smile, earning a grin from his best friend. "What are the odds?"

As the kids talked, Gohan and Vegeta continued their battle.

Teleporting out of thin air, the Saiyan Prince arced around the circular chamber and dove in with a flying spin kick, only to miss the blur that shot past him. Growling in frustration, the scarred warrior dropped down to the durable tiled surface and slammed his feet into the floor. With a heavy thud, Vegeta then spun around and jabbed out, feeling his attack get parried and watching as his opponent shimmered into view directly in front of him.

With a shout Gohan threw a hook at the older fighter, who blocked it and attempted to retaliate with a punch of his own. Reacting quickly, the spiky haired Saiyan deflected the man's shot, at the same time jabbing out with a counter that struck his opponent across the face. Knocking spit out of Vegeta's mouth, the half-Saiyan parried a flick kick in the side, upon which the Saiyan Prince hiked off of his opponent's forward leg and back flipped into the air. He then came down at Gohan with an elbow, only for the teen to summersault out of the way and leap into the air.

Blasting back in a blur, the boy slammed his feet against the wall and shot forward, slamming into the man's side with a glorified body check and knocking him off his feet. Vegeta gave a shout as he was sent flying, before he swiftly spun into a recovery and kicked off of the wall as well. Both opponents flew off again, darting from left to right until they finally remerged above the ground.

Trading blows, the pair then collided with simultaneous kicks, which they both parried before eventually springing off of their opponents. Upon which the pair curled up into balls, spun through the air, and dropped altitude. Both touched down with a solid thud, covered in sweat, bruises, and showing signs of serious fatigue against the crushing forces of increased mass.

Panting heavily and noticing the teen glaring back at him fiercely, Vegeta huffed and marched over to the control panel. With a quick press of a button, he shut off the artificial field weighing them down. _**"Training Session: Complete. Gravity Simulation: Deactivated. Normal Environmental Settings Restored,"**_ the computer's voice spoke up as the hum of the engines faded away, and the two Saiyans felt the extra mass lift free from their bodies. _**"Time: one hour, twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds."**_

"Good spar, brat," the Saiyan Prince said, marching towards the exit with the half-Saiyan falling in step alongside him.

Gohan smiled when they exited the room and entered the lockers, "I see you've learned a few new moves, Vegeta. Been working hard?"

Gathering up a couple of towels hanging from the rack, the shorter fighter then tossed one over to the teen and began drying himself down. "If I plan on ascending to the next level like you have, I'm going to need every single second I can clock to get me there." He then hung the cloth from his shoulder and frowned, "I don't care how long it takes me. Sooner or later, I'm going to catch up to you."

"I'm sure you will," the demi-Saiyan chuckled, wiping his face and smirking at the man who'd become one of his most frequent sparring partners over the last few years. "Until then, you can expect to see my face around here a lot more often."

Grunting, Vegeta turned his back on his former opponent and went over to his locker, where he opened it up and began fishing around for his regular clothes. During which time he heard Gohan shuffle over to his and, after fishing out a water bottle, uncorked it and took a big swig from its contents.

"You've been jumping over to Otherworld to visit Kakarot, haven't you?" Vegeta asked, glancing over his shoulder to see the teen glance back at him in response.

"Yeah. Every chance I can," Gohan answered, before a smile formed across his face once again. "I took mum up there today so that she could spend some time with him while I looked after Goten down here." He then nodded to the Prince in acknowledgement. "If you like, I can say 'hi' to him for you when I pop back over to pick her up."

"Hmph. Whatever," the flame-haired warrior replied, shutting his locker and moving to the showers, leaving the teen in the locker room to his own devices. "You can kick that clown in the shin for all I care."

Smiling after the Saiyan, the young warrior sat himself down on the bench and took another sip from his bottle. When he lowered it, he was almost immediately blind-sided when two similarly sized blurs crashed into him from the entrance. Looking down in surprise, he saw Trunks and Goten grinning up at him.

"Oh. Hey there you two. Where've you been hiding this whole time?" Even though he knew they'd been watching his spar with Vegeta, he still wanted to take the chance to humor the little rascals.

"That was awesome, big brother," Goten exclaimed happily. "You really gave Trunks' dad a hard time in there."

"Yeah! The way the two of you were zooming around and beating the heck out of each other, it was _so_ _cool_!" the lavender haired hybrid also spoke up loudly, looking just as thrilled as his friend. "You and dad are, like, the two strongest guys in the universe."

"You think so," Gohan asked before grinning brightly. "You may be right on that one, Trunks."

Rocking back and forth while grabbing his brother's towel, Goten beamed at his sibling eagerly, "Can we have a go as well, Gohan? Me and Trunks want to fight with you too."

"Heh. Sure. Why not?" the teen replied, upon which he then set his drink aside and nodded across the room. "If you like, I can take both of you in for a quick session at an easy ten. What do you say?" Since they were both still young and in training, he had to be considerate of their strengths.

His little brother especially. Even though the kid was super talented and packed quite a punch for his age, Goten still had quite a ways to go before he could tackle anything of a significantly high level.

Regardless, that didn't stop the twin terrors from expressing their enthusiasm.

"_**Yeah!"**_ the pair answered at the same time, throwing their fists into the air excitedly. A split second later, both of them then laughed when Gohan stood up, tossed his brother over his shoulder and picked Trunks up and slipped the squirming child underneath his arm.

Once he'd hoisted them onto his person, the demi-Saiyan began his march, "Alright then. If that's what you fellas want, then let's get this show on the road!" He then dragged the laughing pair back into the Gravity Room, all the while not knowing that Vegeta had been standing behind the corner listening in the entire time.

After hearing the youngsters enter the training area, the Prince of all Saiyans returned to his own business and continued on for the showers. After the amount of heat he'd burned up in that damn simulation against Kakarot's ridiculously strong brat, he definitely needed a good soak to wash away his fatigue.

XXX

(Several weeks later)

(Mount Paozu)

Standing on the grass side by side with their eyes glued on the skies above them, Zangya, Piccolo, Lime and Icarus looked on intently as Gohan's latest training session unfolded at a rapidly escalating pace. It wasn't just due to the fact he was starting to use some more impressive maneuvers, but the other two he was currently having it out with were now trying even harder to shoot him out of the sky.

Zipping around as nothing more than three indiscernible blurs, the demi-Saiyan, along with a slightly scolded Videl and an equally bruised up Goten, could be seen exchanging blows at an incredibly high speed. With the sounds of wind cracking and gun shots ringing out across the countryside, there was nothing about this scenario that said they weren't working themselves into the dirt.

Elegantly dancing across the heavens, Videl reappeared out of super speed diving foot first towards an empty space in the sky, where Gohan's form suddenly blurred into view. Grinning all the while, the half-Saiyan parried her flying side kick and countered with a right hook, driving the girl away and forcing her into a retreat. Almost instantly after the failed attack, Goten came in from the side attempting to hit the older boy while his guard was down. However, just like with Videl, the teen managed to avoid the child's hit and retaliated with a swift body shot, knocking the wind out of his airborne brother before kicking him away.

Spinning through the air, the child quickly slowed and stopped in his tracks, teeth bared and fists clenched. "Ah. That didn't work."

"You've finally gotten the hang of flying, Goten. Well done," Gohan exclaimed, soaring backwards as he set his eyes on his winded sibling. "Don't stop now. You're doing well."

Grinning at the boy's encouragement, the spiky haired child in the long sleeved orange and blue gi threw his hands forward, "Okay! HA!" With a mighty yell of effort, the demi-Saiyan unleashed a powerful golden beam straight towards the teenager.

Smirk forming, Gohan slipped to the side and avoided it, allowing the attack to streak past him. The second he did, he then flew off to the right as fast as he could and dodged an orange blast from his five o'clock, which came from Videl attacking from below. In a matter of moments, the entire sky became filled with golden and orange beams of light as Gohan's two opponents began firing ki attacks at him one after the other.

Like a gratuitous fireworks display, the entire countryside became filled with chains of explosions and blinding flashes of light. One would quickly mistake this to be some sort of concert out in the middle of nowhere. However, at the very heart of this strange anomaly, it was simply two powerful martial artists trying to catch their even more powerful opponent and knock him out of the clouds.

The display of sheer speed and skill impressed both Piccolo and Zangya, and filled Lime's eyes with a sense of awe as she watched the group battle it out in midair.

"That's incredible," the brown haired girl in jean shorts and yellow T-shirt whispered, eyes darting left and right and taking in the performance for all it was worth. "No matter how fast they move, they just can't seem to catch him."

Zangya smiled in response, at the same time Icarus purred happily, "Give it a minute."

After several moments of nothing but watching beams of light and explosions streak across the heavens, Videl and Goten eventually reappeared out of their light speed states of travel, followed closely by Gohan. As soon as their forms faded into view, the dynamic duo took immediate action and focused all of their efforts upon their target.

Grabbing her wrist and throwing her hand forward, Videl unleashed a powerful purple blast towards the boy, at the exact same time Goten cupped his hands beside him and unleashed a _**Kamehameha**_ wave in the exact same direction. The simultaneous attacks bathed the teenager in a bright light as the lances of energy approached, intent on taking him out in one go. However, just when they were about to hit the perfectly still boy hovering casually in their flight path, he suddenly vanished in a flicker of movement, stunning his opponents.

Videl and Goten's attacks collided with earsplitting force and an earthshaking explosion, filling the sky with fire and smoke. The colliding attacks obstructed the pair's view momentarily, prompting them to shield their faces until the flaring lights started to dissipate. When they looked back, they gritted their teeth in frustration when they saw the results for themselves.

"He's gone," Goten exclaimed, looking around in shock. "Where did he go?"

As it turns out, his teammate was almost as lost as he was, "I don't…" However, upon stretching out her senses and combing the area a little more thoroughly, the girl with the pigtails suddenly gasped in surprise and slipped to the side. "THERE!" Avoiding a series of blurs that shot past and cut her cheek, Videl threw a right straight, her knuckles grazing something in the air ahead of her and drawing a spurt of blood.

The moment her punch became fully extended, Gohan emerged out of his super speed movement directly in front of her with a surprised expression in play, which shortly transformed into a smug one.

When Goten looked over to see what'd happened to Videl, the youngster saw both her and his big brother floating with their fists extended over the other's shoulder and gazes locked firmly on their respective targets. Having obviously exchanged a cross counter with the half-Saiyan, the female fighter fixed the teen with a sly grin while Gohan threw one right back at her.

Their unexpected face-off had Piccolo blink in surprise, "She's gotten better… _much_ better."

"Yeah," Zangya murmured, also putting on a smile. "Last time she couldn't keep up with that kind of speed. But it looks like Gohan's been taking her in for some extra training sessions in the gravity room."

In other words, after five years of training, Videl was finally starting to close the gap.

At first perplexed by the pair's exchange, Goten then balked in shock when he saw the pair vanish into thin air and the sounds of rapid gunfire suddenly fill the skies. Along with a chorus of grunts and shouts, the youngster saw the pair reemerge ten stories above him locked in a fierce exchange of blows. Their attacks flying at each other in a blur of countless motions, the pair then vanished and reappeared several hundred yards away, continuing to trade blows and pour on the pressure. In a matter of moments, their super human battle became a continuous, ongoing process, as the two fighters darted about the sky locked in intense combat and traded hit after hit at blinding speeds.

Eyes looking around in disbelief, Goten tried to follow them, but found that task to be extremely difficult. "Wow. They're moving so fast I can't even see them." Focusing his senses, the child spent the next minute attempting to get a bead on the pair's positions. After several more seconds of hearing nothing but grunting and powerful attacks impacting over and over, the child finally spotted them and grinned. "Busted!" With a loud battle cry, the hybrid shot up into the sky and, upon gaining enough speed, threw a flying side kick.

The second his momentum stopped he saw Gohan and Videl reappear, both of them looking down at him in surprise while the former had to lean back to avoid being hit by his brother's sole.

As soon as the two older fighters emerged out of thin air, Goten lunged at his older brother and began unleashing an onslaught of lightning fast attacks on him. Yelling out with every blow, the youngster began forcing Gohan into a slow retreat of ducking, weaving and slipping around his fists and kicks.

Upon realizing what was happened, a big smile appeared on Videl's face. "Heh. Look at him go." If nothing else, Goten sure was a determined little sprite.

Attempting to put on the pressure, the young demi-Saiyan increased the speed of his assault. But just when it seemed like he was getting somewhere, Gohan's hand suddenly shot up, caught his fist, and locked him up, stopping him dead.

A chuckle escaped the teen's lips as the demi-Saiyan grinned at his younger brother. "Hey, squirt. You're _way_ too slow." The older fighter then lightly kneed the kid in the stomach before smacking the child out of the sky, sending him plummeting to the hills below.

However, just several stories later, Goten managed to stop his descent and flipped back into a proper, upright position. As soon as his momentum ceased, the youngster flew back up after his opponent, bringing proud looks to Piccolo, Zangya, and Lime's faces.

"Yeah! Go Goten!" the brown haired girl cheered ecstatically, a chant which was immediately matched by an encouraging shriek from Icarus.

This sparring match between the three young fighters lasted for quite a while after that. But just like all great sessions, the hour soon came to an end and both Videl and Goten were swapped out for another pair of challengers. The two aliens watching from the sidelines took to the stage shortly after the young duo stepped down, allowing both them and their half-Saiyan friend to get a workout into their day. In a matter of seconds, the sky once again became filled with explosions and sonic blasts as shockwaves rippled all across the countryside.

When the audience stepped back and took up positions on the grass, the youngsters were soon given a full scope of the capabilities of earth's mightiest defenders. Videl, Lime and Goten were unable to peel their eyes away as the adults of their group battled it out across the heavens and rained hell down upon one another.

Appearing out of super speed, Gohan swung down with a hammer blow and struck Piccolo in the back, sending the Namekian plummeting out of the sky and towards the ground. But when he was only several feet away from hitting the earth, the green-skinned warrior righted himself and, landing against the grass in a crouched position, rocketed up into the sky and flew right back at his opponent, who was forced to block a spin kick from behind thrown by his other opponent.

Zangya growled when her attack was thwarted and swung in with a hook, only for Gohan to parry it and retaliate with a kick straight into her chin, which knocked her spinning in the opposite direction. As soon as he'd dealt with her, he turned to face the fast-approaching Piccolo, who managed to catch him with his guard down and smacked him across the face with a hook. The blow sending blood flying from the youngster's mouth, the demi-Saiyan used the momentum gained from the hit to spin around and slam a kick into the Namekian's head, only to see him block it. As soon as the force was absorbed, his mentor dove in with an onslaught of attacks.

Managing to weave around and deflect most of the blows, Gohan landed two straight punches into his instructor's face before receiving a kick in return, which he quickly countered. His occupation with the Namekian left him wide open, as Zangya suddenly came up from below with a jumping knee into his stomach. As soon as she smacked the boy into the air, she performed a quick forward flip and dropped an axe kick right into his back, sending him plummeting to the ground with a deafening shockwave.

The teen slammed into the grassy hillside in an explosion of smoke and dust. The moment he crash-landed, Zangya and Piccolo threw their hands back and pitched them forward unleashing two powerful beams that separated the cloud and collided with the crater Gohan had formed. The attacks detonated with colossal force, shaking the entire region and stunning the audience. Lime actually had to hang on to Icarus to stop from being shaken off her feet.

"Whoa! Intense," the farm girl remarked.

"You got that right," Videl agreed, looking on with a startled look of her own in play.

When it seemed like Piccolo and Zangya had managed to finally down their stubborn adversary for good, a second explosion from below cleared the cloud of smoke and revealed Gohan standing there covered in bruises.

As soon as the teen emerged from the rubble, Zangya grinned and disappeared in a blur along with her partner. Reappearing close to the ground, the orange haired woman turned in mid flight and flew at the boy feet first. But just when it seemed like she was about to hit, the teen leapt over her and flew into the air, retreating as Piccolo remerged not too far away and lobbed an orange ball of ki his way.

Avoiding it using super speed, Gohan quickly gained altitude. Upon suspending himself in the sky above the valley, he threw his arms and legs out and powered up, his golden aura exploding off of him as he jumped straight to Super Saiyan.

"Come on!" the half-Saiyan shouted.

His opponents were undeterred.

Powering up as well to match the boy's level, Piccolo rocketed up at his student and greeted him with a wide hook, an attack that was quickly matched by a punch from the golden warrior. In an instant, the pair's fists and legs collided with one another again and again as they traded mountain-leveling shots at high speed. But after several seconds of exchanging hits, the demi-Saiyan proved to be far too much for his mentor and managed to slip one of the Namekian's kicks and elbowed him in the head. The blow connected with tremendous force and sent the green fighter plummeting out of the sky.

Zangya, teleporting behind Gohan in a full-powered state, attempted to blindside him with a blow. But the teen, quick as ever, managed to avoid it and catch her arm. Both snarling under the strain of the lock, the Hera then leapt at him with a kick, only for the hybrid fighter to block it and knee her in the stomach with a yell of effort. The impact creating a deafening shockwave and causing Zangya to spit up blood, the half-Saiyan then used his advantage to spin the woman around a few times before tossing her towards the ground.

The orange haired fighter fell for several stories, only to stop just a couple of feet off the ground and land on her toes. Wiping blood out of the corner of her mouth, the woman smirked towards her opponent when he descended back to ground zero, at about the same time Piccolo managed to stagger to his feet as well.

The three squared off once again. But just when it seemed like they were going to restart the fray from scratch, Zangya spoke up.

"Why don't we make this a little more interesting?" the Hera asked, drawing Gohan and Piccolo's attentions. When their eyes fell upon her, they saw the young girl rise up to full height and clench her fists tightly at her sides. "I've been saving this move for a special occasion, but I think now is as good a time as any to show you."

At first confused by what she was saying, the two warriors soon found out why Zangya was acting so confident as her ki suddenly started climbing at an alarming rate.

Tensing up and gathering energy, the woman's green aura exploded around her like wildfire, causing the ground around her to crack and tremble. A growl escaping her clenched jaw, the Hera spent the next several seconds focusing her power and allowing it to build. Then, as soon as she reached the barrier preventing her from powering up any further, the woman broke it with a mighty yell and a deafening howl. In a series of sonic explosions, Zangya threw her arms up and outwards, her aura intensifying several times over when her skin flashed green and her hair turned blood red. Her muscles also becoming more defined with her power up, the woman practically shredded the purple shawl she was wearing and disintegrated it on the wind, stunning her audience.

Causing a gust of wind to blast outwards in all directions, Gohan and everybody else looked back to see the woman smile in their direction.

"It took a while, but I finally managed to get it. My race's Super Hera transformation… a technique known only to a handful of my people," Zangya spoke, her voice calm despite the now enormous level of energy she was producing. Just standing next to the woman had Piccolo sweating, whereas Videl and Goten, both of whom were positioned several yards away, gawked in disbelief. "So… what do you think?"

At first astonished at his friend's sudden transformation, Gohan's look quickly calmed and an excited smile pulled across his lips. "I think I've found myself a new playmate," he said, gaze flickering mischievously. With a grunt of effort, the demi-Saiyan wasted no time and transformed as well. Hair spiking up even more, leaving only a single bang hanging in front of his forehead, the tempest of Gohan's aura increased dramatically and electricity began to crackle around him in a squall. Upon ascending to the next level, the teen smirked confidently, "Let's dance."

The sight of her roommate assuming his Super Saiyan 2 form had Zangya's full and undivided attention. A grin of excitement appeared on her face.

"This is going to be fun."

XXX

(A month later)

(Erasa's House)

"I mean, I was just casually flipping through channels and when I saw that movie was playing, I decided to see what all the fuss was about," the blonde haired teen that was Videl's schoolmate exclaimed, at the same time leaning back in her couch and staring across at the other people in the room.

"And… what did you think of it?" Videl asked, genuinely finding interest in what the other girl had to say about her latest discovery.

"I thought it was a pretty spectacular movie," the blonde in the green tube-top and white short-shorts replied, quickly taking on a dazed look as she thought back on the film. "The male actors in it were _so_ hot."

"Well, they have to be if it was a movie about male strippers," the amused voice of Lime spoke up, whom was currently crashing on the floor in front of Gohan, the latter of which was sitting on the two-person couch alongside his raven haired training partner. "That's the general rule used by all companies who want to put something on the market. Sex sells."

"You don't need to tell me that, sister," Erasa chirped, raising her soda to the girl as a sign of respect, which the brown haired teenager in the blue, checkered shirt that was tied at the front and showed off a lot of cleavage, blue jean shorts and boots, responded in kind. "Guys, girls, it's all the same as long as they advertise it to the right people. Anyway, back to the movie; Magic Mick was great. Not because it was filled with a bunch of ridiculously hot guys, but the story was pretty awesome as well."

"I thought so too," the voice of a male spoke up from the other side of the group, to which all eyes turned to see a boy around their age, athletic in appearance with short brown hair and glasses, wearing a fitted red top, loose jeans and converses, sitting there with a proud smile on his face and polishing his nails against his chest. "Yep. Just another heterosexual male that went out and watched Magic Mick. It's not weird, it's… it's not weird… right?"

Videl snorted as she stared across at another friend from school, "Why in the world did _you_ go and watch that movie, Touya."

"My guess is that he was insanely bored," Gohan remarked, sharing a grin with his friend and earning a nod of agreement from her.

"Hey, I had to take my girlfriend to see something on the weekend. I couldn't help it if our only two options on the register were Magic Mick and that odd looking Galaxy Soldiers movie people have been raving on about for months," Touya replied, at the same time giving them the okay sign. "Good choice either way, but hey, I'm a man that cares about what Yukie wants, so I decided to bite the metaphorical bullet."

Lime, deciding to humor the kid, sighed and shook her head at the young man leaning against the other unoccupied couch, "What a hero."

"You're a champion among men, my friend," Gohan said in earnest, lifting up a potato chip and popping it into his mouth.

Touya chuckled and nudged his glasses against his nose, "You know, my biggest surprise about the whole thing was finding out it was directed by the same guy who directed that Ocean's Ten movie from eight years ago."

"Oh yeah. I remember watching that. That was a pretty tight film," Videl murmured, easily recalling that particular title. "Man. What a way to go."

"I knew something was up while I was watching it, because the entire way through I was thinking to myself 'this movie is… better than it should be… in fact I'm going to say it's actually enjoyable and good.' So I looked up it up and I was like 'oh, shit, that guy directed it'," Touya continued with great enthusiasm in his voice. "Seriously, it was a butt-load of fun."

"You have to give the man props for having the guts to shoot that kind of script," Gohan interjected, taking a sip from his drink before looking across at Erasa. "Movies based on those sorts of concepts would be a pretty big risk in the industry, considering a lot of people would be uncomfortable with the idea of watching and filming something like that, right?"

"I wouldn't say so. If you think about it, you'd be surprised at the amount of good movies are out there that were made on a shoe-string budget and have a unique story to them," the blonde replied with a sagely expression. After taking another swig from her drink, the blonde stood up and cheekily plopped down right on Gohan's other side, prompting him to move over a tad and Videl to stare strangely at her friend for her actions, "As for the characters, the two main guys in Magic Mick stood out the most for me. The other male strippers in the movie were just kind of in the background. They weren't really doing much."

Touya then grinned across at the group, "Although, Alcide Herveaux from Moon Blood was in it and… yeah, that is one attractive bastard." His remark had everyone give him an odd look. "I'm serious. I'm gonna be honest with you guys. You know, a lot of sorority chicks are usually like 'ah, that chick's hot, I hate her.' Nope. That's a good looking dude and, man… if I were gay, I'd hit that." He then gave them all a thumbs-up, a gesture which earned a snicker from Lime and Videl, and a raised eyebrow from Gohan. This then had the young man adjust his collar and clear his throat. "Erhm… not gay."

"Whatever you say, Touya-kun." Taking the teen's words to heart, Erasa grinned and turned her attention to the other male in the room and pinched him in the shoulder. Her sudden action earned a yelp from the young Saiyan in the Capsule Corp jacket, "But as hot as he is, he's not as good looking as Gohan-kun here." She then leant against his shoulder playfully, causing him to bend away and Videl to glare across at her best friend. "Why settle for fictional characters when I've got the genuine article sitting right next to me."

"Uhh… that's uhh… very flattering of you to say, Erasa," Gohan said nervously, earning a sweet smile from the teen. Obviously he wasn't used to this kind of attention, in spite of how friendly he made himself out to be to a lot of people. Girls like the blonde made him feel a little… awkward…

Giggling, Erasa then leered across at Videl, who continued to give her the funny look. "What about you, V? Do you think Gohan's hot?"

"M-Me? Uhh…" Recoiling at the unexpected question, the girl with the pigtails quickly looked away to hide the blush that appeared on her face. Her reaction was spot on, because she just managed to look away in time to avoid Gohan, Lime's and Touya's curious gazes turning in her direction, "I… think he's… umm… I think Gohan's… pretty cool looking." This is what she allowed herself to say outwardly. "He's okay, I guess."

On the other hand. _"Hot? Gohan's ridiculously hot,"_ was what the tomboy thought immediately afterwards, which instantly had the girl's face light up like a bulb and prompted her to shake it to rid herself of the sensation.

To help cool herself off, the raven haired fighter skulled the soda in her hand in one go.

"Gohan's way better looking than those celebrities you see in the movies," Lime spoke up confidently, elbowing the boy playfully in the leg and eliciting a nervous laugh from him at being ganged up on by the girls in the room. "Rain or shine, I'd be happy to be seen out on the streets with his arms around me."

"And… what about me?" Touya asked from his spot, putting on a cool-guy pose. "Come on. Doesn't this face rock your boat as well?"

Considering him for a moment, Erasa gave him a so-so gesture, "Meh. Six out of ten."

Her answer had the male deflate and caused a proverbial raincloud to appear over his head, "Aww, man…" It then started to rain around him, much to the amusement of those who could recognize the poor boy's depression.

"Hey. Don't take it personally," Lime exclaimed in her country accent, at the same time tilting her head backwards to smile at the demi-Saiyan behind her, completely ignoring the fact that Videl was still trying to fight off her uneasiness next to him. "It's just a lot more fun to tease Gohan, since he's so cute and innocent."

"Oh yeah," Erasa agreed, head butting the male hybrid and getting him to imitate a bowling pin after being clipped. Sharing a laugh with the half-Saiyan and his friend from the country, the blonde then noticed Videl come back around and pull the hybrid fighter's attention towards her once more, where the pair then shared a few more words with one another. Upon which Erasa then drew all of their attention to her again with a quick announcement. "Hey! I recorded this awesome new action movie from the network if anyone's interested in seeing it."

Registering to the girl's suggestion, Gohan smiled, "I'm game."

Videl beamed and lifted a hand, "Me too."

"Same here," Lime spoke up.

"Why not?" Touya also murmured, recovering quickly from his brush with gloominess and leaning back against the couch in his typical manner. "I could use with some cheering up."

"Sweet," Erasa chirped, quickly gathering up the remote from the table beside the couch and switching on the big screen. "Let's see if we can make a game out of it. Hope you guys are ready." In a matter of seconds the girl flipped the television over to her planning list and, after cycling through the files recorded, eventually found what she was looking for.

Conversations switched topics quite frequently shortly after that. Let's just say a lot of comments and reviews were shared during that particular screening…

XXX

(A year later)

It has been close to seven years after the world gripping event known as the Cell Games and in that time, the people of earth had experienced a long, well-deserved period of peace and prosperity. All across the globe humans and animals alike were reveling in the happiness and joy brought on by the days of tranquility, and while there were minor community issues here and there, along with the occasional natural disaster taking place, it was altogether the most agreeable times anyone could ever remember experiencing.

The Z-fighters were also making the most of the opportunity to stretch their legs. The Briefs continued their work at the company, Krillin and Android 18 were living happily together at _Kame House _with their daughter, Tien and Launch had settled down on a farm, Yamcha was making it big as a celebrity on his baseball team, and Dende was still carrying on his work as guardian of the earth.

The Saiyans were also doing their best to occupy themselves and make the most of the time given to them. Vegeta was still pushing himself to the limits of his body in the gravity room along with his son, who he'd decided to drag along for the ride, and Goten was still as outgoing as ever. Surprisingly enough, sometime over the past couple of years, the rest of the gang discovered that the Saiyan Prince and Bulma had decided to stop playing games with each other and make their relationship official. In a small, quiet ceremony outside of the eyes of the public, the two of them got married at a small temple, with only a handful of their closest family and friends attending the event. While not as big as the one hosted by Krillin and Android 18, it was definitely one of the most groundbreaking celebrations the Son family had ever born witness to.

To top off this shift in tone, not only were Gohan, Videl, Piccolo, and Zangya training harder than ever, but the former two had also joined Satan City's police department as a supplementary wing of their forces. The pair of teenagers had taken on part-time positions as crime fighters of the enormous metropolis and while there had only been a handful of problems that needed to be taken care of in the year since they joined up, the pair became an immediate hit.

Thanks to his extra-curricular activity, Gohan's life became that much busier. But even with his construction work and security job taking up a lot of his weeks, the young half-Saiyan still found the time to hang out with his family and friends, and train in the mornings and afternoons to keep up his skills. He was making such a terrific headway in the combat department that he even began aiming for a completely new objective that none of the Z-fighters ever expected him to try and reach before.

The teen wanted to ascend to the next level.

With his power growing every day, Gohan knew without a shadow of a doubt that there were even greater heights he could reach as a Saiyan. There was strength and potential inside of him that he knew he had and, no matter what it took, he was determined to draw them out. However, what was stopping him from pushing past the second level was a speed bump he'd encountered a few times before.

It was the same obstruction that'd prevented him from transforming to his Super Saiyan 2 form following the Cell Games.

He needed a kick: something to push him that last, extra step and achieve a third ascension.

But… this particular objective in his life could wait. Right now, with nothing but clear blue skies ahead and a big world to explore, Gohan knew he had plenty of time to figure this puzzle out.

On this particular, bright and sunny day, soaring through the skies above the pristine landscape of Mount Paozu, the small form of Goten could be seen flying with his arms at his sides and a wide smile on his face as he cut through the planet's lower atmosphere with ease. Descending from his height and going for a spin through the clouds, leaving a pair of vapor trails behind him, the spiky haired hybrid hit the accelerator and took off at an even greater speed. A joyous laugh escaped his lips shortly thereafter as he watched more clouds fly past him and saw the land roll by mile after mile.

"This is so awesome!" Goten exclaimed, giggling brightly as he continued on with his fists pointed forward and his hair whipping around him wildly.

It'd been a long time since he'd gone on a trip like this. Ever since his older brother taught him how to fly and showed him how to tap into his inner energy, the child had been using every opportunity he had to make the most of his abilities. Whether it was just floating from place to place or using his speed to evade his mother's watchful gaze, Goten was really coming to realize the full potential of his strengths.

Fortunately he had his family and friends to remind him not to overdo it and abuse his gifts. A bundle of energy like him needed boundaries, and the Z-fighters had been just the right group of people to teach him those.

While he was soaring along, feeling the air whip at his face and the sun shine brightly overhead, the child then became aware of a shadow falling over him and glanced over his shoulder. When he did, he saw the familiar forms of Piccolo and Zangya float into view, the orange haired girl pulling up alongside the demi-Saiyan with her arms crossed and a smile on her face.

"Going somewhere, little man?" the Hera asked mischievously.

Blinking a few times, Goten smiled, "No. Just flying around the world. No biggy."

"Well then…you wouldn't mind if we joined you, would you?" the orange haired fighter asked.

The half-Saiyan boy nodded his head vigorously, "Yeah. Of course." He then had his gaze pulled over to his other side, where he saw Piccolo pull up nearby with his arms at his sides and a smirk on his face.

"She was worried about you," the Namekian informed in a low enough voice so that the woman didn't hear him. "She just won't admit it."

Goten giggled in return, "I know."

Just as the three were beginning to establish a comfortable pace, about a few hundred meters up ahead, they suddenly saw the cloud cover break and another familiar figure burst into view. Trailing vapor behind her, dressed in an oversized white shirt, a pink t-shirt underneath, a pair of figure hugging black shorts, green Capsule Corp boots and black fighting gloves, with her hair cut short, Videl made her appearance on the scene with an excited cheer and an aerial loop. Immediately after performing the stylish maneuver, the girl turned around so that she was flying backwards, waved to the three tailing behind her, and grinned.

"Hey there, slow pokes!" She then powered up, enveloping herself in her white aura and taking off at an even greater speed.

"Oh? Is that a challenge, Videl?!" Zangya called out, before smirking and powering up as well. "Well if it's a race you want, then it's a race you'll get!" Green aura burning brightly, she too revved her engine and sped up, closely followed by Piccolo and Goten doing the exact same thing.

The three caught up to the human girl in no time, who smiled across at them as they streaked across the sky like jets. In fact, they were moving so fast that they broke the sound barrier effortlessly. They ruled the sky for miles around and with absolutely no traffic to worry about, the group was well on their way to lapping the entire planet.

But then, just when it seemed like the four of them had become the fastest moving objects on the planet, an orange blur rocketing past them suddenly nudged them to the side and caught their attentions. Looking ahead in surprise, the group saw the laughing form of a seventeen-year-old Gohan dressed in his orange and blue gi perform several spins as he ascended at breakneck speeds. Covering more ground than Superman himself, the half-Saiyan executed a couple of stylish loops before then dropping back to fly alongside his friends and family.

Being sure to nod to Piccolo and share a fist-bump with Zangya on his way into their formation, Gohan then pulled up between his kid brother and best friend of six years, and fixed his attention upon the latter, "Hey, Videl. Going my way?"

The teen crime fighter, blushing a little at the warrior's charming smile and dashing exterior, grinned back at him with equal intensity, "Wherever the wind takes me, I guess."

Gohan's eyes flickered with delight, "Sounds good to me."

With that exchange, the group then fixed their gazes ahead of them once more and shot off towards the horizon. Though the path they'd selected had been random and they had no idea what cities and countries they were now passing, one thing was for certain…

They were definitely looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, that montage went by longer than expected. But at least we were able to see what Gohan and the others did over the past couple of years.

It's been close to the seven years now and, as expected, we're only a couple months away in the story before Gohan goes to High School. What shenanigans are waiting in store for our hero next?

Well, so far we were able to see a lot of what the Z-fighters did in their off time. Gohan has made friends with Erasa, and now he, Videl, Erasa, Lime and the new guy Touya spend a lot of time hanging out. He's even taking Videl to the movies. You could assume it's a date, but they're just hanging out as friends (wink)… for now anyway.

Let's see, Bulma and Vegeta are married, so are Krillin and Android 18, Android 16 is back… kind of… let's just call him a watered down version of Android 16, the gang is getting together regularly, Zangya was able to attain a Super Hera form, and everyone's still training hard.

Just so you all know, Goten and Trunks aren't Super Saiyans yet, and for good reason too.

Once upon a time, becoming a Super Saiyan in the series was a privilege and a rite of passage, but when they came along in the Buu Saga it… really diluted the currency a little.

Goten could possibly go Super Saiyan with some work, since it's pretty much in his genetics (because he was conceived when Goku had achieved the Full Power version of a Super Saiyan). I don't think Trunks could possibly transform without a great deal of work. He just became a Super Saiyan at his age in the series for the sake of becoming a Super Saiyan because… _logic_. Anyway, it might be a little bit before you see these two get to that level. Probably in the next chapter or so.

And… Sentinel is nowhere to be seen yet.

All of the previous chapters have been foreshadowing, so if you've been paying attention, all of you probably have an idea of what's to come.

I guess since the Seven Year Arc is almost over, it's time to move into the _**Zeru Arc**_ next chapter. This is where shit gets really intense. Hope you're all looking forward to that.

And, as a bonus, I've provided some riki numbers of all the characters just to give you all an update on the characters' progress. The numbers are all at full power unless mentioned otherwise.

Villains:

Frieza (100 Percent Final Form) – 12,000,000 riki (lol. Not… much of a milestone anymore)

xxx

Broly (Suppressed) – 5,000 riki

Broly (Restricted Super Saiyan) – 180,000,000 riki

Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan) – 500,000,000^ riki

Broly (Present) - Unknown

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Hatchiyack – 500,000,000 riki

xxx

Perfect Cell - 180,000,000 riki

Super Perfect Cell – 300,000,000 riki

xxx

Bojack – 190,000,000 riki

Bojack (Super Hera) – 280,000,000 riki

xxx

Kana (Suppressed) – 15,000,000 riki

Kana (Full Power) – 350,000,000 riki

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Paprika – 15,000,000 riki

Paprika (Super Makyan) – 190,000,000 riki

xxx

Sentinel 16# – 45,000,000 riki

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Varax – Unknown (approximately Class 15)

xxx

Comet Prisoner – Unknown

xxx

Present:

Yamcha – 12,000,000 riki

Chiaotzu – 7,500,000 riki

Tien – 22,000,000 riki

Krillin – 20,000,000 riki

Android 18# – 40,000,000 riki

Piccolo – 190,000,000 riki

xxx

Goten – 11,000,000 riki

Trunks – 11,000,000 riki

xxx

Froze – 25,000,000 riki

xxx

Kana (Suppressed) – 25,000,000 riki

Kana (Full Power) – 420,000,000 riki

xxx

Paprika – 23,000,000 riki

Paprika (Super Makyan) – 230,000,000 riki

xxx

Vegeta – 24,000,000 riki

Vegeta (Super Saiyan) – 240,000,000 riki

xxx

Videl – 16,000,000 riki

xxx

Zangya – 24,000,000 riki

Zangya (Full Power) – 240,000,000 riki

Zangya (Super Hera) – 440,000,000 riki

xxx

Gohan – 25,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan) – 250,000,000 riki

Gohan (Super Saiyan 2) – 450,000,000 riki

xxx

By this point in the series, all of the characters have pretty much reached the same level they would be at around the Buu Saga, more or less, with the exception of Gohan and Zangya, both of whom have obviously been training their asses off. Vegeta hasn't become a Super Saiyan 2 yet since he hasn't found the right 'kick' yet either.

By contrast, opponents of Frieza's level are just stepping stones now. It's hilarious when you think about it. Gohan took him out with only one punch in _**Fusion Reborn**_, and he was in his base form, not to mention he didn't do any training in the seven year gap.

As it stands, while the normal Z-fighters can fight with Gohan and Vegeta in their base forms, when they're in their Super Saiyan forms… well… in Krillin's words, it's like fighting a steamroller with your hands tied.


End file.
